India wilt under Jayawardene display

It was a day that the Indian bowlers would like to forget in a hurry, in fact as soon as Sri Lanka's batsmen next come out to bat - whether in this Test or the next. None of them could make any impression on the Sri Lankan batsmen, and of only two wickets to fall in the entire day, one came off a bad decision. Although the Indian bowlers had a forgettable day, Mahela Jayawardene had a memorable one. The veteran Sri Lankan notched up his 6th Test double-century while taking Sri Lanka to their highest total on Indian soil and a lead of 165 runs, to end the day at 591/5.

The first two days had seen the pitch giving some assistance to the bowlers in the first hour, after easing out into a batting beauty. Thus, from the Indians' point of view, it was imperative that they made the first hour count. When they lost the first hour to Sri Lanka, for whom Samaraweera and Jayawardene, played in an assured manner, the writing was on the wall for the Indians and they would have known that they were in for a long hard day in the field.

And it proved to be just that. The first bit of cheer for the Indians came when Yuvraj took a brilliant catch at short leg to get rid of Samaraweera. The batsman was batting fluently and had reached 70, when an attempted pull was intercepted by Yuvraj. The duo of Jayawardene and Samaraweera had added 138 runs though and Sri Lanka were still in a comfortable position at 332/4. Mahela Jayawardene motored along with his trademark eye-pleasing shots, and none of the Indian bowlers looked likely to come within sniffing distance of a wicket. The Sri Lankans were particularly harsh on Amit Mishra, as he was carted for runs all over the park. Mishra seemed unable to find the right line, length or speed to bowl at, and unless he turns in something special in the second innings, he might well lose his spot in the side to Pragyan Ojha.

At the stroke of lunch, India had a slice of luck, as they got the wicket of Angelo Mathews caught at forward short leg again. However, Angelo's bat had not made contact with the ball, and he was thus distinctly unlucky to be given out. Post lunch, it was a Jayawardene duo at the crease with Mahela being joined by wicket-keeper Prasanna. Mahela progressed serenely to his 27th Test century, reaching there with Sri Lanka on the verge of taking the lead from India. This they duly did, but the Jayawardenes pressed on, eager to make the most of the pitch and the bowling on offer.

Within a few balls of each other, they crossed further personal landmarks, with Mahela going past 150, and Prasanna going past 50. The partnership crossed the mark of 138 between Mahela and Samaraweera, to become the highest of the innings, as the Indian bowlers continued to toil away on an unforgiving day. The bowlers soon got into a totally defensive mindset, with Mishra coming round the wicket to the right-handers and bowling into the rough, with a field setting designed to choke runs rather than take wickets. Dhoni, in fact, seemed to have gotten into a defensive mindset a little too early, right from the start of the day. However, during the partnership of the Jayawardenes, this seemed a lot more pronounced. The upshot of it was that the batsmen were not likely to lose their wicket, and because there was no urgency to score, they could milk singles at will - secure in the knowledge that two full days of play remained in the match.

As the close of the day approached, everything about the Indians seemed to sag - their shoulders and their spirits - but the Jayawardenes continued to shine bright even as the sun set. Their partnership kept flourishing until almost as if it was inevitable and pre-ordained, Mahela Jayawardene scampered a single to reach the sixth double hundred of his career, and second against India. He had played flawlessly, not giving even a half-chance to the bowlers and was greeted by warm applause as the day came to a close with him still unconquered. The other Jayawardene - Prasanna - had not done too badly himself, ending up on 84 not out in a stand that was worth 216 runs. Sri Lanka ended the day at 591/5, for an overall lead of 165 runs. With two full days remaining, they can afford to bat for a session tomorrow before declaring and leaving India facing a mountainous task.