The Hindu : Gilchrist leads fightback

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 18, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Gilchrist leads fightback

Australia 120 & 221 for 2; -- Sri Lanka 211

KANDY, MARCH 17. Adam Gilchrist replaced injured skipper Ricky Ponting at No. 3 and shook off poor batting form to post his 10th Test hundred as Australia rallied on Wednesday to take a 130-run lead over Sri Lanka in the second Test.

Gilchrist scored an unbeaten 140 and shared a 195-run third-wicket partnership with Damien Martyn, who was batting on 64 when bad light stopped play on the second day with Australia at 221 for two in its second innings.

``It's really pleasing to make an impact in this series and pleasing to get some Test runs after a dry summer,'' said Gilchrist, who'd compiled only four runs in his previous three innings and not scored a Test century since last October. ``I suppose I've about doubled my aggregate in one hit.''

The Sri Lankans had resumed on Wednesday at 92 for seven in their first innings and were dismissed for 211 — an advantage of 91 runs — after Chaminda Vaas (68 not out) and No. 11 Muttiah Muralitharan (43) combined for a national record 79-run last-wicket stand.

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne removed last man Muralitharan to return with figures of five for 56, his 26th five-wicket haul in Tests, and improve his career total to 506. He is 13 behind the record of retired West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh.

Muralitharan, who became the third bowler to reach 500 Test wickets by taking four for 48 in Australia's first innings, didn't add to his ledger with the ball on Wednesday after his impressive cameo with the bat, which included five boundaries and three sixes off 28 balls.

Ponting injured

Ponting, who injured his back when he stumbled trying to field a ball as it crossed a sponsors' sign on the ground late in Sri Lanka's innings, was still undergoing treatment when Australia slipped to 26 for two.

Matthew Hayden (5), top-scorer with 54 in the first innings, gloved a return catch to Vaas off the first ball after lunch and Justin Langer (9) was caught behind off Nuwan Zoysa in the 10th over.

Vice-captain Gilchrist volunteered to move up the order from No. 7 to No. 3 and backed his decision with a confidence-building hundred.

``Ricky asked what I thought about everyone sliding up one, then I thought maybe I should do it to try and (limit) disruption to the middle order,'' he said. ``So we made an agreement then, that I'd have a go at it.''

Ponting had recovered to the extent that he should be able to bat ``whenever required'' on the third day, Gilchrist said.

After the bowlers dominated and 22 wickets tumbled in the opening 119 overs of the match, Gilchrist and Martyn survived almost two full sessions to give the batsmen some control.

He had a narrow escape on 88 when he hit Jayasuriya and Avishka Gunawardene took a brilliant catch in the outfield before stepping over the boundary rope. The wicketkeeper-batsman moved to triple figures with a four off Vaas and blazed 19 boundaries and three sixes in all.

Martyn notched his 16th Test half-century with a single off Muralitharan, one ball after surviving a confident appeal for a bat-pad catch in the 44th over. He batted with Gilchrist for 211 minutes and faced 140 deliveries.

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