Beyond the Boundary - Taut and tense Test likely (13 March 1999)
The sight of two spinners bowling in tandem within the first three hours of any Test match should not warm any season ticket-holder's heart
13-Mar-1999
13 March 1999
Beyond the Boundary - Taut and tense Test likely
Shakil Kasem
The sight of two spinners bowling in tandem within the first three
hours of any Test match should not warm any season ticket-holder's
heart. The average Dhakaite who has bought entries for all five days
of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test match will be having a more fitful
night than Aravinda De Silva.
Dhaka has not prepared a Test match wicket in the last thirty years.
Granted, some assistance and advice have been forthcoming from Phil
Russell, who has been the curator for this square in the past. But
Russell is presently over 5,000 or more miles away, so obviously this
has to have been a local effort. For the sake of the Dhaka Everyman,
one only hopes that the wicket, such as it might be, does not decide
to throw tantrums midway through the proceedings.
The Sri Lankans, meanwhile, have managed to dig themselves into a
right royal hole. Winning the toss and opting to bat first, their
innings curled up and died even before the butt end of the day was
reached. When the top three of the order are back in the pavilion for
less than twenty, any team worth its salt has its work cut out just
to stay in the game. The Sri Lankans tried and looked like getting
back in contention with Atapattu and De Silva, their two technically
correct and accomplished batsmen coming into their own. Their 65 run
partnership was ended just when Sri Lanka looked to have negotiated
the choppy waters. It took a palpably bad decision by the umpire to
pin the Sri Lankans back to the wall again. "Neutral umpires",
whatever the term implies or means, counts for less than nothing if
the man in question is not competent enough, or is just simply having
a bad day at the office. In Atapattu's case it was - and I am trying
hard to be charitable - purely a case of the latter. With Moin Khan
straddling the on side of the stumps waiting for the take, and
Atapattu attempting a sweep, the off-spinner's appeal for lbw was
inexplicably upheld. Quite obviously the outcome of a fairly common
umpiring ailment called itchius fingeritus, a form of malaise that
affects umpires of all climes, "neutral" or otherwise.
From 84/4 with only the wrong end of the batting order for company,
De Silva shouldered on manfully, putting together a masterful
innings. For four and a half hours, he took on everything that the
Pakistanis hurled at him, from speedster and spinners alike. The
hundred was there for the taking. More importantly, the prospects of
reaching 250-plus (since wickets were regularly disappearing from the
other end) certainly looked like being on the cards.
De Silva in the end was done in by another dubious decision, again to
a sweep shot. It was an uncharacteristic shot from a man who has such
impeccable technique and chooses his shots with care. But that is of
small comfort to him and in no way condones the decision. Clearly a
case where the punishment did not fit the crime.
All said and done, barring Atapattu and De Silva, the rest of the
batting order dissolved to a heady chemistry of pace, swing and spin.
Wasim Akram was in his elements. Shoaib Akhtar was pace personified,
while Saqlain preyed on the mind all the time. In the general turmoil
Arshad (who?) Khan picked up five wickets without quite being the
most lethal spinner of a cricket ball in the world. He stuck to the
basics and a rudimentary knowledge of line and length, and the rest
was, well, history of sorts. 5 for 30-odd by an up-and-down offie on
the first afternoon of a test does really send shivers down the wrong
spines.
What might be the moral of the story? It's a funny game, this. All
and sundry may well wait for the morrow to see what transpires; if
not with excitement, certainly with interest. Oh, for a Muralitharan
to rewrite the script! But Pakistan look comfortable enough for the
moment, unless of course complacency bites them around the ankles,
that is.
Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)