Time to forget hype and focus on cricket
Posted on Jul 22, 2008 at 20:07 | Updated Jul 23, 2008 at 10:33
0 Comments
Email 
Print
Tags: india-sri lanka test series, preview,
Colombo: It is time to forget the pre-match hype but while we are about, take a hard look at the statistics. They give an entertaining landscape of past Team India and Sri Lankan series.
The Test records of both teams in Sri Lanka are littered by far too many draws whereas the victories by both you can count on one hand.
More recently India's away record is far more impressive than it is at home while Sri Lanka have not performed as well as they might. Certainly, both sides' Australia record shows a wide disparity. While India have managed to win Tests Down Under, the Sri Lankan Oz odyssey is one tormented more by hope of success than anything else.
It is the same story when it comes to touring South Africa. India have at least won a Test; the problem is that they failed to sustain it. Sri Lanka though have as yet not adjusted to the bouncy surfaces, yet they have won a Test against New Zealand there and drew the series in England.
Yet Sri lanka's home record, if the Pakistan series of 2006 is overlooked, is fairly comfortable and the last time the teams met at the Sinhalese Sports Club, John Wright and Sourav Ganguly ruminated over the missing elements that could have helped rescue the side from what was a massive defeat.
Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble were missing. By the end of the Sri Lanka innings, they had scored 610 for six declared, while Muttiah Muralitharan's 8 for 87 in the first innings was at a time when he was most probably at his peak. He had been cleaning up most teams that visited the island and this was no exception.
Looking down the list of both teams, four India names that featured in that Test are Rahul Dravid, Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. The missing pieces in the puzzle are Kumble and Tendulkar.
For Sri Lanka, Sanath Jayasuriya has retired, as has Hashan Tillekeratne. This time, the latter was to have been manager but was left out before the Test on political grounds when an interfering Minister of Sport, Gamini Lokuge, refused to accept Tillkeratne's name on the team sheet.
It doesn't reflect well at all when hours before a crucial first Test, a cabinet minister is allowed to reject a member of the management, forgetting what it does to the Sri Lanka team.
No doubt Minister Lokuge will argue that as Sri Lanka Cricket is being run by a government-appointed Interim Committee, and he has the power of the veto – even of a player if he so desires. It is petty and should have been resolved in a more diplomatic manner.
| Ads by Google |
Total Comments: 0
Read All Comments | Post Comment