Indian Seamers strikes

Srilanka 398/7
Sharma and Mithun 3 wic and Sehwag one wic..


On the first day, the pitch looked flat, the bowling insipid and the Sri Lankan batsmen were queuing up to have a go at the Indians. Everything changed today. Yesterday's storms and overnight rains had left a damp and seaming pitch and the Indians were on song today. After a long time Ishant Sharma looked threatening as a bowler. It was that kind of a morning. Unexpected things happened. The ball talked. The Indians smiled. And Ishant roared. However, it wasn't all gloom for Sri Lanka. Angelo Mathews sparkled with a lovely cameo and Sri Lanka moved past 350 which can be a daunting total in these conditions.

The story of the morning, though, was Ishant and to an lesser extent Abhimanyu Mithun. The Indian seamers harassed the batsmen in two spells - first with the old ball and the next with the new cherry. In between the spinners were ineffective in a seven-over spell between them and Sri Lankans added 23 in that period. It was the only period where they could breathe easy.

Ishant, in particular, produced his finest spell in recent memory. He struck with his second delivery: It kicked up from short of length and tilted away from Tharanga Paranavitana who replied with a lame fatal poke. Next up was Thilan Samaraweera. Ishant struck him on his helmet with a bouncer on the first delivery and had him jabbing at the next couple of incutters.

While Mithun picked up Samarawaeera, Ishant returned later to trouble Jayawardene with the new ball. The first over was a gem. He got the third delivery to leave Jayawardene late. It was a peach of a legcutter and you wondered whether he could maintain the pressure for a series of deliveries. The next one cut in and Jayawardene seemingly left it on the bounce. Or was he expecting it to go other way? You couldn't be really sure. The next delivery darted back in, cut Mahela into half and somehow missed the off stump. Jayawardene lunged forward desperately the next ball to take out the lbw out of the equation and was hit on the inner thigh by another incutter.

The over ended but the battle had just begun. Next over, Ishant got just one ball to bowl at Jayawardene. He hurled a legcutter and produced an edge but the ball ran past gully to the boundary. Next over, Ishant troubled Jayawardene with yet another legcutter which prompted an appeal from the men behind the stumps. The contest ended next delivery as Ishant seamed the ball back in to catch Jayawardene in front of the leg stump. It was a wicket well earned and a battle worth watching.

Then, Angelo Mathews showcased his cricketing acumen. He had been pushing and prodding until then. Survival was at the forefront of his mind. With Jayawardene's departure, he jumped to Plan B and began the counter attack. It was classic old-school cricket. As that cliché goes, attack is the best form of defence. Sometimes it is indeed so. He walked down the track and pulled Mithun to the midwicket boundary. He then carved Ishant to the point boundary, lifted him over mid-off and slashed him through covers.

Ishant, though, struck just before lunch with a delivery that straightened outside off. Mathews, caught on the crease, pushed away from the body and VVS Laxman took a smart catch to his right at second slip. The break couldn't have come sooner for the hosts.