KANPUR: Though Sri Lanka seemed the only side canny of forging a win in Ahmedabad, there was hardly any psychological gains or momentum either side could have carried forth to the Green Park Stadium.
Whatever edge Sri Lanka could brag about batting only once, the Indian batsmen’s recovery in the first innings and resolve in the second negated it. On a featherbed duvet, a host of batsmen breastfed on spin, reasserted the stake.
The docility of the Ahmedabad track has amplified the adeptness of batsmen and ineptness of bowlers - 1600 plus for 21 wickets.
Abominable figures. But in fairness, there was batsmanship of all hues - from measured counter-attack to methodical aggression and sonorous concerto. There was hardly anything for the bowlers, the strip getting slower and drier by the day, holding together and thus depriving the contest that began with a tumult of a fitting roar.
So the protagonist ahead of the Kanpur Test is understandably the deck. The strip is distinct from Motera, has a sparse sprinkling of grass on it and has the bearings of a crumbling surface, one that could aid spinners as the match weans on. The soil being black underneath, it could get slower and lower as well, and uneven bounce could factor the game. But it wouldn’t have been a spitting dustbowl like it was against South Africa in 2008. Curator Shiv Kumar assured that the pitch would last for the full five days, and that “there would be something for the batsmen, seamers and spinners.” If the final eleven is decided on the grimace of the canvas, Sri Lanka would have more options. They could afford an extra spinner without disrupting the side’s balance as all-rounder Angelo Mathews can share the new ball with Chanaka Welegedara, who rattled the Indian top-order in the first hour of the Ahmedabad Test.
While Tillakaratne Dilshan has recuperated from his broken nose, Dammika Prasad would most likely be nursing his hamstring.
And if the Islanders decide against deploying an extra spinner, the pacy Dilhara Fernando is likely for a recall.
It won’t be an unrewarding ploy, if they field Ajantha Mendis, the conjurer who left the vaunted Indian middle-order flummoxed and befuddled when they toured Sri Lanka last year. Though they seemed to fathom his mystery in the limited-over version, the immaculately accurate and skiddy rifler could be quite deceptive in Kanpur conditions.
With Muttiah Muralitharan seemingly not the potent force as he had been over the decade, Mendis could provide Sri Lanka with that surge of spark. And on the back of a splendid series against New Zealand and looking the better of two spinners in Ahmedabad, dropping left-arm spinner Ranganna Herath wouldn’t sound sane either. So Sri Lanka playing three spinners is a probability than a possibility.
Conversely, India can’t fiddle around much with their line-up not the least drafting an extra spinner at the expense of a pacer, more so as there would be some initial moisture, and reverse swing on offer.
India are likely to retain their eleven, but there would be onus on Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra to perform.
Despite the unresponsive strip, Harbhajan was effective only in patches and Amit Mishra was woefully offcolour.
Both knelt down near the strip scrutinising it, and they didn’t have to press their ears so close as to hear the faint echo of tumbling timber. That has the makings of an intriguing contest, with a typical subcontinental relish, as both sides have quality spinners and adroit batsmen.