In 1987, England were strolling to victory against Australia at Kolkata in the final of the cricket World Cup, when English captain Mike Gatting committed one of the biggest blunders in cricketing history. Gatting (for reasons best known to him) tried to reverse-sweep an innocuous delivery from his Australian counterpart Allan Border, but only succeeded in edging it to the keeper. England collapsed soon after and lost the final by seven runs.
Kushal Perera, the talented young wicket-keeper of this present Sri Lankan outfit was not even born then. Before this match, it isn't clear he even knew who Mike Gatting was. But after this innings, where a similar reverse-sweep put paid to Sri Lanka's fledgling dreams of saving the series, it will be difficult for him to run down the comparisons with Gatting that will inevitably surface.
Perera’s brainfade
Yet again, an enthralling Test match seemed to have turned. Kushal Perera joined Angelo Matthews in the 38th over and the duo launched a splendid rearguard action. In the next 30 overs, the runs first came in a drip and soon started to flow. That sinking feeling must have returned in Indian stomachs. Johannesburg, Wellington, Adelaide, Galle – that uncanny ability of extricating defeat from the jaws of victory seemed to have returned to haunt them. The boundaries were flowing and Indian shoulders had started drooping. Perera was living up to the comparisons of Sanath Jayasuriya, flashing that blade again and again. Sri Lanka, having started the day from 67/3, were actually entertaining thoughts of the unlikeliest of victories.
And just like Gatting almost 30 years ago, Perera did the unthinkable. There were only a few overs before tea and the second new ball. Kohli’s last throw of the dice lay in the second new ball so he decided to rest his seamers and let his spinners have a go. In hindsight, he needn’t have worried. Confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence is not – and Perera, playing in only his debut Test match, probably just got carried away. An innocuous delivery from Ashwin in the 77th over and Perera, flushed from his twin half-centuries in the match, attempted to reverse-sweep it to the boundary. He hit it well, the ball hitting right in the sweet spot, but tragically for him, straight to Rohit Sharma at point.
A long wait
As a mortified Perera started the long walk back, one could feel the momentum shift. A desperate India had got the fillip they needed and weren’t going to let it go this time. The new ball was taken and Ishant Sharma got one to curl in and have Angelo Mathews adjudged leg-before, after a defiant, counter-attacking century. It was difficult not to feel a little sad for the forlorn Sri Lankan skipper, who had scored one of his best Test centuries, albeit in a losing cause. Kohli gave Mathews a pat on the back, a small recognition of how well Mathews had played and a nice touch in a Test match dominated by ugly send-offs and mutual recriminations.
The last series victory away from home for India came back in 2011. A series win in Sri Lanka had come even earlier, 22 years ago. Four overs later, India finally wiped away that unhappy stat when Amit Mishra had Nuwan Pradeep, the last Sri Lankan caught in front of the stumps. The joy in the Indian team’s faces was palpable – there had been so many near-misses in the recent few years that many must have despaired whether the feat would ever be achieved. Under Kohli’s impressive captaincy though, this young, exciting Indian team though have done it. Make no mistake, there are plenty of rough edges in this team, but coming back to win a series 2-1 requires tremendous mental fortitude. Especially after that heartbreaking loss to Galle which could have broken stronger teams.
As the great poet said, there are miles to go for this Indian team. And they won’t always have such a raw inexperienced Sri Lankan side for opposition. But Test series wins abroad are rare and ones in Sri Lanka are even rarer, no matter the quality of the opposition. Kohli and his boys fully deserve to party in the Sri Lankan capital tonight.
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Kushal Perera, the talented young wicket-keeper of this present Sri Lankan outfit was not even born then. Before this match, it isn't clear he even knew who Mike Gatting was. But after this innings, where a similar reverse-sweep put paid to Sri Lanka's fledgling dreams of saving the series, it will be difficult for him to run down the comparisons with Gatting that will inevitably surface.
Perera’s brainfade
Yet again, an enthralling Test match seemed to have turned. Kushal Perera joined Angelo Matthews in the 38th over and the duo launched a splendid rearguard action. In the next 30 overs, the runs first came in a drip and soon started to flow. That sinking feeling must have returned in Indian stomachs. Johannesburg, Wellington, Adelaide, Galle – that uncanny ability of extricating defeat from the jaws of victory seemed to have returned to haunt them. The boundaries were flowing and Indian shoulders had started drooping. Perera was living up to the comparisons of Sanath Jayasuriya, flashing that blade again and again. Sri Lanka, having started the day from 67/3, were actually entertaining thoughts of the unlikeliest of victories.
And just like Gatting almost 30 years ago, Perera did the unthinkable. There were only a few overs before tea and the second new ball. Kohli’s last throw of the dice lay in the second new ball so he decided to rest his seamers and let his spinners have a go. In hindsight, he needn’t have worried. Confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence is not – and Perera, playing in only his debut Test match, probably just got carried away. An innocuous delivery from Ashwin in the 77th over and Perera, flushed from his twin half-centuries in the match, attempted to reverse-sweep it to the boundary. He hit it well, the ball hitting right in the sweet spot, but tragically for him, straight to Rohit Sharma at point.
A long wait
As a mortified Perera started the long walk back, one could feel the momentum shift. A desperate India had got the fillip they needed and weren’t going to let it go this time. The new ball was taken and Ishant Sharma got one to curl in and have Angelo Mathews adjudged leg-before, after a defiant, counter-attacking century. It was difficult not to feel a little sad for the forlorn Sri Lankan skipper, who had scored one of his best Test centuries, albeit in a losing cause. Kohli gave Mathews a pat on the back, a small recognition of how well Mathews had played and a nice touch in a Test match dominated by ugly send-offs and mutual recriminations.
The last series victory away from home for India came back in 2011. A series win in Sri Lanka had come even earlier, 22 years ago. Four overs later, India finally wiped away that unhappy stat when Amit Mishra had Nuwan Pradeep, the last Sri Lankan caught in front of the stumps. The joy in the Indian team’s faces was palpable – there had been so many near-misses in the recent few years that many must have despaired whether the feat would ever be achieved. Under Kohli’s impressive captaincy though, this young, exciting Indian team though have done it. Make no mistake, there are plenty of rough edges in this team, but coming back to win a series 2-1 requires tremendous mental fortitude. Especially after that heartbreaking loss to Galle which could have broken stronger teams.
As the great poet said, there are miles to go for this Indian team. And they won’t always have such a raw inexperienced Sri Lankan side for opposition. But Test series wins abroad are rare and ones in Sri Lanka are even rarer, no matter the quality of the opposition. Kohli and his boys fully deserve to party in the Sri Lankan capital tonight.