CHENNAI: IN the end, it felt a bit like ‘Predator vs Prey’ on National Geographic. Or like a bunch of lambs being escorted to the slaughterhouse. By the time India wrapped up proceedings to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series — by an innings and 222 runs — you were already feeling sorry for Sri Lanka.
Sans a few of their better players, the result of the match was a foregone conclusion even before the two teams had landed in Mohali. The only interest was whether the visitors were capable of punching above their weight category. It wasn’t even close.
Even though the visiting batters let themselves down by unwilling to engage in a fight — seven of the 16 Lankan wickets to fall on Sunday were ducks (11 of 16 was single digits) — on a typical third-day track, some credit should be reserved for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. This is what they have do in India (out of the 35 they have featured together, they have lost only once (Australia in Pune). They asphyxiate opposition, keep landing the ball in dangerous places, play with the angles to tease the batters and create multiple wicket-taking opportunities in every spell. The only release shots on offer have to be manufactured and there’s always an element of risk to that.
Both Jadeja, who took nine scalps in the match (five and four), and Ashwin, who passed Kapil Dev’s 434 to become the second-highest wicket-taker for India, retained a menacing hold from the they got the ball in hand on the second day.
Why they are so effective in these conditions is the way they home in on the pads and attack the pads, this is something that holds true for the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami as well. That’s an added advantage in the DRS era where the grammar of the LBWs has changed significantly. In fact, the first five Sri Lankan wickets in the first innings came via this route, including the first of 16 they lost on Day Three. Charith Asalanka was looking good for more when Bumrah, who is so good with the slower ball, beat him for sheer subtlety. The umpire at the non-striker’s end ruled that it was bouncing over the stumps but DRS ruled in favour of India.
Most overseas batters, even well-established batters in the international circuit, struggle in India because they tend to play the names rather than the surface in front of them. Apart from the expected wear and tear on Day Three, the surface had no demons. Yet, the batters had decided to not trust their defences. Niroshan Dickwella’s first innings 10-ball two is an example. Like a deer in the headlights, he tried to swipe across the line rather than trusting his defensive side before bringing out his attacking game. Jadeja eventually removed him, a top-edge falling straight to square leg. Even if the southpaw had a better second essay — his unbeaten 51 meant the visitors scrapped their way to 178 — it was a very loose batting performance.
Sample this to further ram home the point against imagined demons in the pitch: including their second innings, they lost their last 16 wickets for 191 runs, that’s unacceptable at this level.
There is no shame in losing to India in India — heck, Sri Lanka, even in their pomp with a clutch of world-class players at their disposal, have never managed to beat India away — but to wave the white flag twice in a single day is worrying.
There are no such worries for the hosts who have ticked a number of important milestones with a win that’s befitting of the occasion. Now, to win the series in the day/night contest at Bengaluru from Friday.