The home side now leads the series 1-0.
Quite deservingly, Muralitharan and Mendis lead the Lankans off the field. The crowd is up on their feet to salute this champion performance of their home team. Is this the beginning of a new era where there's a new kid on the block to support and match Murali from the other end? Lots of hype and expectations from the young debutant and one must say that he didn't disappoint anyone with his mysterious spin. The Sri Lankans are elated and why shouldn't they be? They deserve every bit of it, they won session after session and it looked like a one-sided affair throughout.
Sri Lanka 1st Innings : Malinda Warnapura 115 runs, Mahela Jayawardene (c) 136, Thilan Samaraweera 127, Tillakaratne Dilshan 125* & Ajantha Mendis 8 wkts (4+4), Muttiah Muralitharan 11 wkts (5+6)
India 1st Innings: Gautam Gambhir 39 runs, VVS Laxman 59 runs & Zaheer Khan 2 wkts.
India 1st Innings: Gautam Gambhir 43 runs, VVS Laxman 21 runs. Thats all NO GOOD PERFORMANCE FROM INDIA.
Review System: After what we have seen in this match so far, the review system seems to be here to stay. It has really given the players and umpires something to think about. While the players will try to be as honest as possible, the umpires will try their best to be as close to being 100% accurate. In the second innings we witnessed three exceptional decisions being reversed by the review system and India lost Sehwag, Tendulkar and Dravid that way. Although one doesn't feel that those decisions would have made a major difference in this match, we have to realize that a review system would have certainly changed the result of many matches in the past. The most fresh and the most prominent example that comes to mind is the last Sydney test match between India and Australia. I don't think the umpires need to take the review system as an offence, they should in fact treat it as a tool that will inspire them to be more accurate. So, from the commentary box we welcome the review system whole heartedly and warmly...
Trivia: This is India's third biggest defeat in tests. The two worse defeats came way back in 1974 and 1958 when India lost to England at Lord's by an innings and 285 runs and to West Indies at Kolkata by an innings and 336 runs respectively. This also happens to be Sri Lanka's third biggest win in Tests. The two better wins have come against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2004 when Sri Lanka won by an innings and 240 runs and by an innings and 254 runs in back to back matches. So, this is their biggest win against a major Test playing nation and their biggest win at home.
Muttiah Muralitharan bags his 19th Man of the Match award. He picked up 11 wickets in this Test to push India into shambles.
This test match has seen some outstanding cricket, some champion batting performances and a couple of stupendous spinners. Four brilliant tons in the first innings ensured Sri Lanka a superb platform to go for the kill. One thought that the Indians would bat the same way since this pitch looked placid and didn't have anything to offer to the bowlers. But two men came, saw and conquered. Muralitharan and Mendis spun a web across the Indians and they fell flat on their faces failing to find a single answer to the magical spin. The most highly rated batting line-up crumbled like a school team. 14 wickets fell today and this pitch all of a sudden looked like a piece of wood worn out by a saw. Murali ofcourse is believed to spin the ball even on a glass surface and Mendis won accolades for his accuracy. The Indians need to watch a lot of videos now and work on their approach. Do join us for the second Test match from Galle to know whether India bounces back or not. Till then from all of us here in the comm box, it is good bye and good night.
