He is a man with matchless abilities, with qualities envied by many and possessed by few. Adrenaline? There is no dearth of it in his system.
S Sreesanth can bowl effectively with both the new and the old ball. If he can’t take a wicket with the new ball, he will certainly do it with the old one. The Kerala pacer is a player with unthinkable surprises and unbridled energy.
At the Brabourne Stadium here on Wednesday afternoon, he came out with a stunning spell of fast bowling. The born-again speedster displayed tonnes of verve, zest, sting, venom and zeal in the afternoon session. The spell yielded only one wicket but that was enough for India to prevent a potential Sri Lankan fightback.
If the visitors were not better than 366 for eight at stumps on Day One of the third and
final Test, it was because of that fiery spell. Mahela Jayawardene, arguably the best batsman in the Sri Lankan line-up, was his victim in that five-over spell. Sreesanth’s final analysis of 14-1-66-1 was not commensurate with his performance.
If Sreesanth was not lucky enough, Harbhajan Singh was. The offie finished the day with four wickets. The success was a reward for his control and guile which put brakes on Lanka’s march but his prize scalp — Tillakaratne Dilshan — was an umpire’s gift.
Umpire Nigel Llong upheld a bat-pad appeal from the Indians when the ball was miles away from Dilshan’s willow. But then that was the only way the opener could have been dismissed on Wednesday. The umpire’s decision brought to an end an innings full of character. Undoubtedly, the Sri Lankan was the star of the day. The 33-year-old scored his 11th Test century.
Dilshan was not exactly poetry in motion at the crease, but he made for the aesthetic deficiency with his enterprise and aggression. Surprisingly, he started off rather slowly, thereby allowing opening partner Tharanga Paranavitana to take charge. The left-hander ran away with a well-crafted 53 but Dilshan was not far behind. He showed good footwork and a sense of timing as the bowlers struggled to curtail him.
The Lankan innings revolved around three good stands involving Dilshan — 93 for the first wicket with Paranavitana, 59 for the third with Jayawardene and 74 for the fifth with Angelo Mathews. Mathews took charge once Dilshan was gone and was unbeaten with a stroke-filled 86.
Contrary to expectations, the historic Brabourne, hosting a Test after 36 years, failed to attract much crowd. The turnout was less than 5,000 with one side of the stadium remaining largely empty.
But the good news from the venue was the pitch. Although there was not much swing off the air, the wicket was full of life. It had something for both batsmen and bowlers.
Harbhajan and his spin partner Pragyan Ojha exploited the turn and bounce off the wicket and shared six scalps.
MS Dhoni was so encouraged by the life in the wicket that he kept close-in fielders for long periods. In fact, at certain times, there was more ‘crowd’ around the batsman than spectators in a stand!
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