The Hindu : Sport : Indians were outplayed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 12, 2005

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Sport

Indians were outplayed

Sustained Sri Lankan efforts on the field forced the Indian batsmen to make mistakes

W.V. RAMAN

The back handed flick by Sangakkara to run Dravid out at a very crucial stage in the final epitomised the confidence level of the Sri Lankans. This particular facet was the outstanding feature of the Sri Lankans right through the tournament. In contrast the Indians somehow could not raise their confidence levels enough to turn the tables on the Sri Lankans. However, the Indians will have to concede that the Sri Lankans outplayed them in the Indian Oil Cup final even though the margin of defeat seemed slender in the end.

The host came out of difficult situations with the experienced players playing the lead role with Sanath Jayasurya yet again proving to be a scourge of the Indians. The seasoned left hander curbed his natural game and played a steady knock in the interests of the side with the top order succumbing in a hurry to Nehra. Jayasurya's innings provided the inspiration for Jayawardene to dig deep and play a fluent knock in the nick of time.

The vice captain appeared to have reserved his best for the final and he stood between Indian and a possible victory in two successive games. It was a fitting finale for the Sri Lankans as they looked and repeatedly established on the field that they were best in the pack. The reason for Sri Lanka winning the tournament goes beyond the fact that they were playing international cricket prior to the triangular matches.

The experienced lot contributed handsomely to the team's cause while the younger lot performed in an admirable fashion. Maharoof was vested with the responsibility of handling the new ball and though his strength is not pace, he displayed enough control. Besides he chipped in with useful runs in the company of the accomplished batsmen in the lower order. In fact the lower order saved the Sri Lankans on more occasions than one and this particular aspect was terribly missing in the Indian ranks.

Calculated game

The ploy of playing five bowlers did not prevent the Sri Lankans from posting a healthy total but this was possible only due to a calculated game plan adopted by the hosts. They went after Kumble, which surprised the Indians and with Pathan going for runs the Lankans were on course to reach a defendable target. The Indians put up their best batting performance in terms of contributions from the main batsmen.

Yet the Indians came second best as a result of excellent all round fielding by the Sri Lankans. The explosive start from Sehwag provided Dravid and Yuvraj the launching pad and at one stage they looked good enough to finish the game in the Indians' favour. However, the sustained Sri Lankan efforts on the field forced the Indian batsmen to make mistakes that resulted in their downfall.

Kaif offered some sort of resistance but with the lower order failing to make any impact the writing was on the wall. Muralitharan and Chandana kept the batsmen under a leash and that too on a pitch conducive to batting. The Indian batting yet again lacked consistency and to make matters worse, the top order batsmen could not convert their starts into substantial contributions.

Dravid's boys looked very flat as against the Sri Lankans who were relentless in applying the pressure, be it while batting or fielding with their sense of urgency. The athleticism displayed by the Sri Lankans was a treat to watch and they are arguably the best fielding side in the sub-continent. On the other hand, the Indians dropped a couple of regulation catches for which they paid the price rather dearly.

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