Ind vs SL, '10, Third test in Colombo: End of the day discussions and predictions for next day

[sudheer kumar]

End of Day-I...What chances India have to win the match? There is something in pitch..Helping bowlers. SriLanka finished day I better than India. If India takes two more wickets then Match will be in India's favor. Srilanka passed that average first innings score at P Sara Oval. What will be Indian game plan on Day II? They must take at least two wickets in first hour. If they don't , chances of winning the match will be decreased. Dhoni should not use Mishra in that first hour of play. He should go with Ishanth and Mithun. Ojha should play major role ahead of Mishra. Amith mishra disappointed with his poor performance. But finally India need to all out Srilanka under 375 runs. That will increase chances of winning test match. Batsmen should play with good plan against Malinga. And Sehwag should not lose his wicket to Welegedara. Ishanth bowled better than Mithun. It's a message to SL & kiwis for upcoming tri series. P Sara pitch is good for test cricket. Let's hope result will be in India's favor....!

[fineleg]

This pitch will turn lot more on days 3-5. Sanga has won a excellent toss, and SL score of anywhere between 450-550 will be humongous on this pitch. Apart from spin trouble, Malinga lethal as ever, and Weleg troubles Sehwag. Lets hope Ind batsmen grit out a draw.

[sangrock]

Viru is on fire against Wallu. I hope he can handle slinger :)

[The Outsider]

3rd Test Day 2 discussion thread This has all the makings of a superb test match. The rate at which India scored the runs today would have surely ruffled the Sri Lankans. Another session of Tendulkar and Sehwag, and Sri Lanka would be right up against it. There is still plenty of batting to come in Laxman, Raina, and Dhoni and with a good platform they can all be expected to chip in and score big. The pitch is starting to show turn, but is by no means unplayable. New batsmen would find it hard to kick off, but a settled batsman well used to the pace of the pitch can score runs here. It's time for the Indian team to stamp their number 1 credentials and score 500-550 runs here by batting all day tomorrow. Hopefully, by the 4th day the pitch would offer more and with a handy lead India can apply some real pressure on Sri Lanka. India's scoring rate is bound to put Sri Lankan on the defensive very soon, possibly as soon as India cross the 300 mark without taking major losses. Both wickets lost by India were criminal - Vijay driving on the up from the back foot and Dravid missing a straight delivery. But I feel the end of the day came just at the right time for the Indian batsmen. Both Sehwag and Tendulkar had started appearing a bit jittery towards the end of the day's play and the overnight break is really going to help them focus. There is always going to be something happening off the pitch from hereon and it's vital that batsmen getting beaten don't allow it to effect their game. It's a major test for the Indian line up, but I feel they've got it in them to come trumps tomorrow and put Sri Lanka under serious pressure going into the fourth day.

[b555]

problem is even if our batsmen do really well whos der to take care of the sri lankan order? especially when sri lankans are well know for 2nd innings performances at their home

[VRV Singh]

Key thing is how long SRT and Viru can continue in this vein. Longer they stay at the crease the more pressure is put on SL...there is certainly a big opportunity to put them on the back foot going into day four if these two and those that follow bat with authority. A wicket or two in the morning session changes the complexion however...Viru in my opinion is the key man

[sudheer kumar]

Sehwag...simply superb today What a man he is. Excellent performance with the bat and ball today. Virendar Sehwag ...... one of the best opener in any form of cricket and specially in Test cricket. His avg in Test cricket is more than 50. His performance is maturing match by match. 97* today - is very good performance. He played easily every bowler. Look at welegedara's bowling figures. Even in ODIs also it is poor performance. Sehwag punished all the loose balls and also respected good deliveries. Specially against Malinga. Malinga 23(29)-->79.31 Welegedara 44(31)-->141.93 Mendis 11(9)--> 122.22 Mathews 8(10)-->80.00 Randiv 11(8)-->137.50 Look at Sehwag against all the bowlers. Superb. Sehwag is a better cricketer than Dilshan. No doubt about it. But still somebody comparing both players. They should remember that Dilshan changed his game after IPL-I. However.. I am lucky to watch this Innings from Sehwag. Hope India will win this test match. Wish Sehwag to reach his Century as quick as he can tomorrow. ALL THE BEST SEHWAG

[Chandan]

Both wickets lost by India were criminal - Vijay driving on the up from the back foot and Dravid missing a straight delivery. But I feel the end of the day came just at the right time for the Indian batsmen..

How on earth did Dravid miss that delivery from Mathews? He was playing so fluently today that I thought he'll make a decent score this time!! I'm not sure what and how much would Raina be able to contribute this time and this pair has to bat sensibly as well as aggressively because India can lose wickets in a heap and then they'll be under pressure as they have to play the 4th inning.

[saneindian]

Indian bowlers finally got the rhtyhm going, throttled the Lankans for runs and picked wickets regularly. But for a few close decisions and so many balls missing the edge or not carrying to the slips, we could have wrapped them well under 400!! SO well done to the Indian bowling attack. Ishant looked in terrific rhythm and thats good news for us. Ojha also showed that with some turn and bounce from the pitch, he can bowl well in tests. As for tomorrow, what we need is a minimum 4 hour Viru show cos as long as he will bat, Sanga and Lanka will never be allowed to execute his plans. Sachin will look to hold one end up and continue to bat the way he did today, taking singles, punishing lose balls and ensuring Lankan bowlers weren't allowed to settle! He also needs to guide Sehwag and advise him to cut out the risky shots tomorrow (which I am sure Viru will avoid as well).

[coffee_rules]

Difficult to score 500+ from here on this pitch. WIth a bit of luck, we should be able to get past SL score and get/give a meagre lead. Unless we get a 100+ lead, we can't win this test.

[coffee_rules]

whos der to take care of the sri lankan order?

Any 100+ lead will take care of that even with decent bowling. Abysmal bowling can't.

[satishg]

The plan for our batsmen should be to score close to 300 runs by the end of day tomorrow. And i think it is by no means out of our hands to get those runs. One good thing that i am really happy about is to see Sachin at the other end while Viru is batting. Viru needs the calming presence of Sachin to see him through the mad rushes that he occasionally has and every time SRT has been at the other end Sehwag has managed to score big and really big. So if both these players manage to stay for 1 full session then 550 is very much achievable, if not beyond. Good to see the bowlers strike some rhythm so if we manage to take a 100 run lead then i am sure the pressure on the Lankans would be enormous and we would have a great chance to win this one. Here's hoping to another great partnership from the 2 batting maestros :two_thumbs_up:

[dial_100]

Biggest factor in the test match game is which team is under more pressure. By batting so briskly, Indians have already put tremendous pressure on SL. So we need another 60 overs @4 to take over SL total. The game starts after these 60 overs. So if we manage to play remaining 25+ overs tomorrow, we have a lead. Right now the game is poised evenly. Interesting day ahead tomorrow.

[Ram]

Don’t share the optimism, think we’ll probably fall short of the Lankan total tomorrow, maybe even by a 100 runs. Its foolish to make the mistake of assessing batting conditions, while Sehwag and Sachin are out there. Sehwag always make the conditions look more batting friendly than they are and Sachin’s in the form of his life. The question is, if an early wicket falls tomorrow, can the Indian batsmen to follow rise up to the occasion? I doubt it. We’ll probably be dismissed for something around 330-370.

[kabira]

^well even Vijay and in not so good form Mr. Dravid, did not struggle. I don't remember any of two getting beaten. Biggest threat is Randiv. He is getting lot of bounce.

[dial_100]

I think we are lucky to bat on 3rd day for second innings. if we give SL on 4th day morning, they wont last more than a day on that pitch. I would say 70 overs at most @3 rpo. If we have lead of a 50-70 then target comes down to 150. that would be fantastic. Look very very tough though. We cant expect out batsmen to score @4 on 3rd day as well.

[Ram]

^well even Vijay and in not so good form Mr. Dravid, did not struggle. I don't remember any of two getting beaten. Biggest threat is Randiv. He is getting lot of bounce.

Its not just about the batsmen. The Lankans are very good with their innovative field placings and pointed bowling, once they sniff an opening. At home, the Lankan having this unique skill of crowding upon the opposition batsmen, making them suffocate and succumb to the pressure. And with someone like Malinga, he’s easily capable of taking two-in-two, completely changing the complexion of the game. Essentially, for us to be where want to be, at end of day 3, a lot of things have to go right for us. But for Sri Lanka to be where they want to be at the end of day 3, only a few things have to go wrong for us. To me, that is a clear sign that I shouldn’t expect too much from day 3, from an Indian perspective. Which is why, a lot depends on how long these two current can stay the crease tomorrow.

[cowboysfan]

i think another herculean effort by Viru can save us this series.he has it in him to get to 200 after lunch tomorrow.If can guide this innings to a sizable lead(around 100-125) then we can put pressure on the lankans.Viru is the key though.

[kabira]

Its not just about the batsmen. The Lankans are very good with their innovative field placings and pointed bowling, once they sniff an opening. At home, the Lankan having this unique skill of crowding upon the opposition batsmen, making them suffocate and succumb to the pressure. And with someone like Malinga, he’s easily capable of taking two-in-two, completely changing the complexion of the game. Essentially, for us to be where want to be, at end of day 3, a lot of things have to go right for us. But for Sri Lanka to be where they want to be at the end of day 3, only a few things have to go wrong for us. To me, that is a clear sign that I shouldn’t expect too much from day 3, from an Indian perspective. Which is why, a lot depends on how long these two current can stay the crease tomorrow.

^dude what you trying to say is true for every opposition. LOL. Its cricket and game can change in minutes. Ask our beloved padosis LOL. If you ask me its even stevens right now. The team that wants to win this one will create opening tomorrow. Srilanka having won the first test, they may be defensive and there lies our chances.

[Manny_Pacquiao]

glad our bowlers showed up. 6 wickets for 132 runs is a really good return. could have been even better had sehwag not missed that chanc off samaraqueera and that lbw been given. there was also that drop of sangakkara when he was on 23 on the previous day, so total could have been even less than 425. the pitch will definitely deteriorate as the match progresses so we can expect an even better showing from our bowlers in the 2nd innings. guys like ojha will love that crumbling pitch some real positive batting from the guys. they batted well in galle too, but there muralitharan made some crucial breakthroughs at the right time and the partnershisps were never there. this time SL dont have that same wicket taking threat. the way indian batsmen played malinga's yorkers was excellent. they were really well prepared this time. mendis is ****ing useless. randiv is quality though - this guy threatens a lot. has nice variation and natural bounce so will be very tough toplay in the 4th innings. this test might well be a repeat of mumbai. SL scored 393 and then india knocked off the runs in no time with veeru scoring 293. fingers crossed.