The past fortnight has been an eminently forgettable one for Indian cricket and Indian cricket fans. Having lost the final of the triangular one-day tournament India desperately needed a positive result in the Test series to lift their morale. As it happened, the first Test at the Galle International Stadium was an absolute shocker. Notching up totals of just 180 and 187 the Indians succumbed meekly to a 10 wicket loss in just over three days.
If there was anything to take heart from for the Indians it was the batting of Sadagoppan Ramesh. The Tamil Nadu southpaw showed he had the ability to perform at the highest level by top scoring in the first innings. On a wicket that had a bit in it for the quick men, Ramesh defied the Sri Lankans. With the runs being extremely hard to come by, Ramesh dug deep and found resources that detractors doubted he had. In a patient knock that lasted over three hours, Ramesh compiled 42 invaluable runs. The strokemaker curbed his natural tendencies and struck just two boundaries in his 127 ball knock. Ramesh's knock helped India post an opening partnership of 79.
Come the second Test at Kandy and India were once again in a less than pleasing position. Down 0-1 in the three Test series the visitors had to put together a strong performance to keep their hopes alive. When Sourav Ganguly won the toss, inserted the opposition and allowed them to make 274, India had their backs to the wall.
Once again, it was Ramesh who came to India's rescue. Losing Shiv Sunder Das early in the piece, quickly followed by the wicket of Dravid, the mantle of senior batsman fell on Ramesh. Working the ball away off his hips in crisp fashion, Ramesh stood tall against some fiery fast bowling from Dilhara Fernando. In 152 minutes at the crease, Ramesh had five partners and yet, remained unfazed. Just when it looked like he was good for a half century, Ramesh perished, being caught behind off Fernando.
In 95 balls, Ramesh struck five boundaries and scored 47, eventually the top score by an Indian in the first innings. On both occasions, Ramesh had come good in circumstances that were less than conducive for batting. For playing two innings of character, Ramesh is the Player of the Fortnight.
