3rd Test: SL take day one honours

Colombo: A line from the 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill could have gone through the minds of India slips cordon before lunch on Day One of the third Test here against Sri Lanka.

“Esoteric but nice . . . What was I thinking?” uttered a bemused William Thacker, reviewing the crass remark had just made to million-dollar earning glamour star Ann Scott after meeting her.

After all, he had thrown orange juice all over her bodice in the street and to make amends enticed her back to his house with the blue door to allow her to clean up.

Transfer this filmset scene in a London street to a slips cordon in the field at P Sara Oval and the esoteric mind-warping moment throws new impromptu light of the what is abstruse and what is not nice.

So, there they are, it is the 16th over of the Sri Lanka first innings; Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, with a century and double century to his name this series, was struggling on 23; the total is 59 for one and the slips anxious for success. You could almost taste the eagerness of the cordon, anticipating a catch.

Rahul Dravid and Vangipurappu Laxman are two senior and experienced slipsmen. It’s a rite of passage to fill such trusted positions, having played so many Tests together. Into this dependable group is thrust newbie Suresh Raina. As he’s played 98 slogs (ODIs), you would expect this experienced players and captain of the Indian side that played a triangular in Zimbabwe back in the forgotten mists of May and June to understand the importance slip fieldsmen have.

What happened next, defies imagination. Raina, a competent Test century to his name has India’s icon Sachin Tendulkar adding his praise. The youngster is likened to someone who has performed as if he was well into Test career.

What happened next was a crass touch of mea cupla by third slip Raina. He attempted to go poaching a catch designated for Vangipurappu Laxman at second slip. The look on Laxman’s face as Raina interfered in the normal process of simple slip-catching became as incredulous you would expect.

Not only did it cost the side in terms of valuable time and wickets, it allowed a struggling Sangakkara to survive and bat for a further 27 odd overs, adding 52 runs to his total and stabilising the Sri Lanka innings. What was he thinking? It is a matter that only he can explain to teammates and the captain and apologise for his over-eagerness to impress being a part of such a trio. Only the 23-year-old has played enough ODIs not to make an excuse.

It is one of those turning points in a game where lessons of how to deflate a bowler’s confidence in one easy lesson.

The wicket of the Sri Lanka captain to Abhimanyu Mithun’s bowling at that stage was of crucial importance as in the past, teams have struggled pre-lunch in a . As it is, they had battled against Mithun and Ishant Sharma. It is not a way to play Test cricket.

Apart from all this, Harbhajan Singh’s leave of absence through illness for this third Test at P Sara Oval could yet become a seriously unfortunate harbinger for India and the captain MS Dhoni.

For a start, on a pitch that is increasingly take spin and with Harbhajan missing, MS Dhoni losing the toss yet again is not just another downside moment of this 2010 tour of Sri Lanka. It has become a standing joke within the team on their emerald isle visit.

After all, getting the call wrong eight Tests in succession suggests the luck needed to turn this tour around and square the series is not so much a matter of being clairvoyant as changing the call sign.

In the case of Harbhajan, however, rested from the tri-series in Dambulla starting next week, in which Sri Lanka and New Zealand are involved, his absence through flu suggests he was not monitored too carefully before this tour. And this after the success of the team in the Asia Cup where he looked off-colour and lost his ability to trouble batsmen; this despite Muttiah Muralitharan handing him the mantle of the next best spinner in the word.

He missed the practice game at Colts Cricket Club and failed both in Galle and miserably in the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports club where he has struggled to live up to his reputation, with Daniel Vettori, as the next best available. Reporting ill meant a shift in gameplan ideas as replacement Amit Mishra’s le-spin has rarely troubled Sri Lanka’s batsmen who batted with more circumspection against the seam and swing bowling on offer.

This pitch, with bounce that has excited the Hyderabad left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, is one where a result is guaranteed, unless it rains non-stop for three days. It is thought to be the best in the country for a good game of Test cricket; unlike the flat earth manufactured run factory at the Sinhalese Sports Club, the last five games at P Sara Oval have earned Sri Lanka success. It is why Harbhajan is the missing link in the India bowling attack for this game.

Ojha’s 2/78 from 26 overs explained just why Harbhajan’s untimely illness would have given Dhoni that extra weapon at a time India are desperate to achieve a face-saving victory. There was none of the tantalising skills that you find from Mishra and his presence explains India’s problem in trying to find an Anil Kumble replacement.

At the end of Day One, a first innings total of 293 for four gave Sri Lanka the edge. There may be a quibble by the locals about the Mahela Jayawardene lbw dismissal to Ojha when on 55, or the nifty reaction by Murali Vijay to run out Tillakaratne Dilshan in the last over before lunch for 41. But the need for a top-class spinner similar to some such as Kumble became even more pressing.