Sri Lanka v India, we look back but we don’t really want to

Sri Lanka – gift wrapping the initiative

Raise your hands if you thought there would be a run out in the first over.

Gotcha bitch. What an anti-climax.

After the initial slap in the face Sanath and King Sanga looked good. Thats before Sanaths energizer batteries started to run out.

Sangakkara needs to be hung from his stubble for playing the shot he did. It wasn’t needed and it completely stopped SL in their tracks. Sanath was depending on him for a boost at the other end and the wicket was in excusable.

Kandambys innings was exactly what Sri Lanka dint need at the time. It was slow, it took the strike from Sanath and he got out at the wrong time. Thilina’s inexperience told today and hopefully he writes this down in his diary for future reference.

Maharoofs batting is more useful than his bowling these days, so the little bat and ball that appear next to his name in the team sheet is a bit misleading.

Mahela did his best to not come out to bat, and when he did he looked like a man with 100 runs in 12 games or something.

We are not quite sure what we are gonna do with Sanath, he scored his allotted 100 against India and we still lost. That doesn’t happen often. But he looked good and that’s good for the rest of the series.

The opening bowlers let SL down. Leaked too many runs and dint get enough wickets.

After a good partnership for the 2nd wicket, SL were back in business when they got 2 wickets in quick succession.

And with Yuvraj looking like he was shitting his pants when Splendid Mendis got the ball, Mahela decided the best way to exert more pressure was to put next to no fielders in the ring and allow the single.

It worked of course, For Yuvraj.

In the end SL dint get enough runs in the last power play and needs to hold the half chances.

India – Still good without Sehwag.

Not seeing Sehwag caused me to spasm with excitment in my living room.

Later on in the day I was less enthusiastic.

Ghambir has to be ranked as probably the best opener in the world at the moment or close to it.

And then the MSD took over. He looked like he could get out to any ball in the first 2 overs he faced. He didn’t.

He had the cheek to guide balls out of Sanga’s hands to third man and kept hitting straight and worked the nut to all kinds of gaps.

This has become the trademark MSD innings. Scratchy at its extreme but somehow scoring runs. Then slowly reducing the runs needed at his own pace. Later killing the tired bowlers with his good looks and his unwavering facial expression.

Of course he was ably supported by Raina, Sharma and Yuvra and Mahela.

A good win for India but SL has more in the tank to offer.

The SL engine needs to catch up soon to the Indian one, if they dont they will only see Indians burning rubber ahead of them.

Finding their balls moment.

Not that he has lost them but his last few innings have been good without the big one.

You cant keep a good man down, specially when its Sanath V India.

You’d think generations upon generations of being smashed by Sanath would teach the Indian bowlers something, they (Munaf) kept serving it up to him and Sanath just went on his merry way.

Once this man has a start he will only slow down for his 50 and 100. Between and after you better pray your captain doesnt look your way for a ball.

Play of the Day.

Sanath bags this one too, not for the 100 but for when he got filthy with Sanga for getting out in the middle of the countdown to launch off.

Sanga deserved it, and it showed the fire still burns within the 40 year old non virgin.

11 Comments

  1. Leela said:

    Whatz up with Sanath.. always does well against India 🙂

    January 29, 2009
    Reply
  2. Sachintha said:

    All hail the old man Sanath!
    LOL…

    Well, yeah if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have scored a 200 even. All that is true. And Sana has done prolly more than anybody else (maybe bar Murali) for SL cricket, but still in my opinion he has to go.

    Just look at what happened yesterday. He can barely walk when he gets close to a 100 these days. Clearly the guy is too old… So… after all the good work he departed just at the wrong moment leaving us in tatters. Eventually that means his 100 is useless…

    Also, if we are to get ready for the next world cup, now is the time. Not when it’s round the corner. Lets play a couple of openers, real ones. Udawatte and the likes. Give them chances. Its ok if we go on a losing streak as long as they learn their lessons and perform. So come the next WC we’ll be ready. On the other hand if we continue to search temporary solutions for the problem – like promoting Dilly : I don’t think he’s opening batsman material – we will never be successful. And what if Sana go through a really bad patch before the world cup and gets dropped? Then we will have nobody to fill the place.

    SLC is in total shit and mess I say…

    January 29, 2009
    Reply
  3. instead of sehwag think had sanath not played this game…jittering thought isnt it?

    this is the best result any team can expect when they turn up on the field with only one man firing…

    January 29, 2009
    Reply
  4. He’s not even 40 yet. Got plenty of runs left in him. Just ask Goochie. Or Boycs.

    January 29, 2009
    Reply
  5. achettup said:

    Sachintha, how can you be so ungrateful! Jayasurya was much fitter than Sangakkara when the latter was out. At 171/4, Jayasurya had scored 107 off 114 balls, there were three extras meaning the rest of the team had scored 61 runs off 120 balls! For pure shock value, Sri Lanka should always retain Jayasurya… otherwise they must hire Ranjit Fernando as mascot or motivational speaker for the opposing team, something which might be tougher.
    OB, by the time Gooch got to 40 he looked 50… Boycs not so much, but he did look older… Sanath does not seem to age!

    January 29, 2009
    Reply
  6. sam said:

    Sanath is the man in form for SL n wud always be.,,the new generation is just lazy and lacks work ethics. captain leads here…..

    why doesnt he go ?

    i m sick of seeing him poker faced and speak +ve things….

    how does he try to cover himself ? is he coward? why doesnt he have guts n go face the problem ?

    SJ rocks!! but we dont love him….7 centuries being the reason

    January 29, 2009
    Reply
  7. […] I just hope that this undue criticism has had nothing to do with his recent performance at Dambulla. […]

    January 30, 2009
    Reply
  8. Dulan said:

    What about that lovely little moment in over 49 of Sri Lanka’s innings? I managed to catch it on TV and I’d vote for Yusuf and Raina’s “I’ll catch it – no you catch it” tango as one of cricket’s all time greatest moments, right next to Srinath trying to run out one of our batsmen(was it Sanath?) after his runner had already made his ground.

    January 30, 2009
    Reply
  9. damiths said:

    Leela> Some say he could score a 100 against India in his sleep.

    Sach> I like the idea of DIlshan opening. We can make maximum use of him here. He is in form and there doesnt seem to be a better replacement.

    How can you drop Sanath after he batted like the other day. True he got tired but the rest of the batting dint back him up. If they did we would have got over 275.

    At least he got a 100, without it we would have been in bigger shit.

    SP> SLs just warming up. It will be 1-1 soon 🙂

    TOB> Too true and like atch said he is much fitter than those two combined.

    atch> There is truth in that Ranjit idea.

    Sam> Every player goes through a lean patch and Mahela its the same for Mahela. Im sure he will find some form soon.
    After all its just India.

    Dulan> I Had completely forgotten about that incident. Clearly it trumphs Sanaths one as the play of the day. Thanks for the reminder.

    January 30, 2009
    Reply
  10. Wasim said:

    Srilanka always starts slow in a series, I think they will be able to make a come back especially when they are playing at home all they have to do is to make tracks favorable for M&M.

    January 30, 2009
    Reply
  11. Sachintha said:

    @Damith.
    I know, we would have totally fucked it up without him. But my point is, for how long are we going to depend on him?

    February 2, 2009
    Reply

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