Sri Lanka batsman Angelo Mathews was effusive in his praise of India’s pace troika of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav in his post-match press conference.
“The three are top class and you need to be mentally prepared with good skills to tackle them,” Mathews said.
The ‘three’ have been the focus during a Test match at home after a long time. The major talking points have invariably circled around the batsmen and when the topic of India’s bowling crops up, the natural thought that swirls in the minds of most people is that of the spinners.
Questions about R Ashwin’s effectiveness or Ravindra Jadeja’s knack of picking up a breakthrough have hogged news print and webpages for long. India’s obsession with spin-friendly tracks at home has made them serial headline grabbers.
But on Saturday, not only were the ‘three’ medium pacers on centre-stage, but were also under increased levels of scrutiny as they came into play after a dreadful two days that saw India’s formidable batting line-up crumble.
Onus was on the trio to salvage the situation. The pacers showed fight and produced some noteworthy spells through the day. However, they couldn’t reel in the Sri Lankan batsmen, who were hardly exuding confidence on the seaming wicket.
Bowling in tandem
Shami struggled with niggles through Day three. Not only did he go wicketless on the seaming track, but leaked runs aplenty in the second session, helping ease the pressure built on the Sri Lanka batsmen by Bhuvneshwar at the other end.
The UP bowler, picked ahead of Ishant Sharma, had his tail up since the moment India took to the field. His two early wickets had rocked Sri Lanka. India were smelling a comeback as the visitors slumped to 34/2. However, with India struggling to keep up the pressure from one end, Sri Lanka eventually found a release.
Umesh Yadav, who came on as first change, was all over the place in the second session. His inaccuracy didn’t help matters as the visitors strolled past the 100-run mark thanks to some sensible batting by Lahiru Thirimanne (51) and Mathews (52).
After the Tea-break, Umesh seemed to have found his mojo and sent back the two set batsmen to prop-up India. While, the pacer produced a fine delivery to dismiss Thirimanne, Mathews literally threw away his wicket as he scooped a good length ball straight into the hands of the short cover.
With the ball swinging, one felt India would topple the wobbling Sri Lankan batting. Shami too looked ready to showcase his ‘swinging’ ways, but his niggles cropped up again, before he eventually walked off the field clutching his hamstring.
Bhuvneshwar did get skipper Dinesh Chandimal to play and miss a few, but he could not repeat his fiery spell from the second session. Umesh also lost steam by the end as Sri Lanka consolidated the final session to lie just seven runs short of taking the lead.
Missing Pandya
Other than the ‘three’ Kohli used Ashwin for just four overs and rolled his arm around for one ball as Shami hobbled off the field. Jadeja was not used at all. The skipper appeared to be missing the services of trusted all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Considering the conditions, his medium pace could have helped keep up the pressure on the Lankans.
With Shami’s injury woes cropping up at the wrong time and Bhuvneshwar and Umesh not consistent, Pandya bowling consistent line and length alongside them could have helped maintain pressure on the visitors.
As the day progressed the mind even wondered to Ishant, who’s tall frame could have helped him get more help from the wicket that offered bounce to those willing to bend their back. That the Delhi pacer was at his fiery best while playing in Ranji Trophy encounter against Maharashtra, only made his exclusion from XI feel like a missed opportunity.
The damp conditions are likely to help create dents in the wicket heading into the final two days and allow spinners to come into play. However, with the visitors just seven runs away from taking the lead, India will have to pick up wickets early on Day 4, if they want to avoid the challenge of saving the match by batting through Day 5.
Shami is expected to be fine by the morning as Cheteshwar Pujara had insisted at the end of the day that the injury is not “serious”. India will hope the Bengal pacer is up to the task as the hosts look to rein in the visitors before they post a sizeable lead.
