Colombo Test, Day 3, Lunch
Friday, August 31, 2001

You could sense a deep hole being dug for India in the morning session. Sourav Ganguly and his team looked slightly dispirited and there seemed to be no proper plan of attack.

Ganguly made an attempt to stifle Mahela Jayawardene by bowling well outside off stump with a packed off-side field. But apart from the captain, none of the other bowlers was able to do this with any conviction. As a result, Jayawardene and Hashan Tillekeratne were able to consolidate with ease. The flow of runs didn't ebb all morning. The Indian bowlers didn't look like taking wickers, nor did they look to curtail the runs.

It was good to see Tillekeratne find some form this morning. If he had failed here, his Test career would have been over. I've always rated him highly as a Test-match batsman. He has worked hard for his runs and there have been several occasions when he has made big scores against good attacks. He will value this little knock for a long time.

There has been another dangerous development for the Indians. The ball is starting to turn prodigiously and the Indian batsmen will be looking on with wary eyes, wondering what Murali might be able to do on this surface. And judging by his performance on the opening day, I think they have plenty of reason to worry.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to Dileep Premachandran

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