As if Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralitharan were not enough, India now have to contend with the firepower of Dilhara Fernando too in the next two Tests.

The latest Sri Lankan pace discovery tormented the Indian batting line-up, finishing with match-figures of six for 77 in the first Test at Galle which the hosts won by ten wickets. And if his coach is to be believed, this was just the beginning.

"He could be averaging 94 miles per hour (about 150 kph) soon enough," Romesh Ratnayake said of his protege sending a warning to the Indians ahead of the second Test at Kandy starting on Wednesday.

The bowler himself was not too excited by the tremendous pace that he generates, making him probably the fastest Sri Lankan ever. "Possessing pace is okay but it is nothing if you can't take wickets," he told PTI in a telephonic interview.

He knows how to take wickets though. He simply ran through the Indian middle order on the morning of the second day of the Galle Test for his second five-wicket in an innings haul in just the sixth match.

"My theory is simple. You keep bowling in the right channel and sooner or later the results will show," he said.

The lanky fast bowler first came to prominence when he took five wickets in an innings against South Africa in the Durban Test last year. It was the only bright spot in that series for Sri Lankans who were crushed in both the Tests.

Fernando, who honed his skills at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai during a stint in 1998, rates that spell as his best of the career so far. "Simply, because I was bowling against batsmen who are more used to fast bowling," he said matter of factly without any intention of running down the Indians.

The control on line and length that he showed against the Indians was rare considering he was bowling with a new ball for the first time in his career. "I had not previously bowled with the new ball. But after Nuwan (Zoysa) was injured, I was asked to take the new ball. Also, I didn't have enough confidence in myself," he said.

Though the lack of confidence was hardly evident, Fernando must have made up for it after his superlative performance in the first Test.

What he missed in the first Test though, was an opportunity to bowl to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who is not playing in the series due to a toe injury. Fernando said he would love to bowl to the master batsman who has an excellent record against Sri Lanka. However, it is an ambition for which he will have to wait till Sri Lanka play India next just ahead of the 2003 World Cup.

Fernando did another favour to his team in the first Test, though inadvertently. He increased India's misery by injuring Javagal Srinath, who has been ruled out of the series, and thus ensuring that his own team doesn't have to face the most experienced of the Indian bowlers any more in this series. Srinath was hit on his left hand by a rising delivery while batting in the first innings.

Fernando has tried very hard to avoid being expensive. He had an economy rate in excess of four runs an over against England and South Africa.

But his total haul of nine wickets from the two series boosted him. Fernando concentrated on his accuracy and got immediate results against India against whom he has conceded just 1.83 runs per over.

In the triangular series too, which preceded the Test, he was the joint top wicket-taker with three others and his 11 wickets came every 27th delivery at an economy rate of 4.12 per over.

Fernando is considered as the newest pace sensation after Chaminda Vaas but he would not get into an argument on speed. He has enormous respect for Vaas and has received a lot of advice from the seasoned campaigner. It is apparent he regards Vaas as a role model and has a healthy regard on how the left-arm paceman has remained a top bowler despite a small build and physique.

Fernando is now working on becoming a good batsman too. "I really want to improve my batting," he said. Wonder what would be India's fate if he could bat with the same fire with which he bowls.

© PTI