Kandy Test, Day 3, Close
Friday, August 24, 2001 Muttiah Muralitharan spoilt the party for the Indians this afternoon with a quite breathtaking counter-attack. Only this time, he did the damage with the bat. His blistering knock of 67 merely highlighted what has been an age-old problem for the Indians, getting rid of the tail-end batsmen. There are usually two tried and tested methods that bowlers resort to in such a situation. The pace bowlers try the fast yorker while the spinners rely on turn and flight. The last resort is to put the fear of the cricket ball into the batsmen, courtesy of a few well-directed bouncers. When Murali went on the rampage today, the Indians didn't do any of these things with any conviction. But to be fair to Sourav Ganguly and his men, of the eleven batsmen walking out to take guard each innings, one usually strikes a purple patch. It just so happened that it was the No. 9 batsman today. Like his offspin counterpart, Harbhajan, Murali has a keen ball sense that allows him to dispense with niceties such as technique and footwork. He made the most of that gift today to send the ball to all corners of the Asgiriya Stadium. The target of 264 is definitely achievable. The only thing that concerned me this evening was the fact that Ramesh and Das seemed to be giving the bowlers too much respect. The outcome of this match will depend not so much on the runs to be scored as on the approach the Indian batsmen adopt. This is not a world-class Sri Lankan attack ,and I feel that if the batsmen apply some pressure, they will crumble. Murali and Vaas deserve to be treated with respect but I think the Indians should pick out two of the other bowlers and give them the charge. A timid approach does not win Test matches, or respect. Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to Dileep Premachandran

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