Kandy Test, Day 4, Lunch
Saturday, August 24, 2001 An extremely good session for India. Though they lost Sadagoppan Ramesh midway, Rahul Dravid's presence at the crease is very reassuring. He is the only Indian batsman who has looked confident against Muralitharan, and more importantly, he can score runs off his bowling. It can be taken for granted that Murali will bowl from one end of the remainder of this Test match, so it's critical to Indian hopes that Dravid stays around. Sourav Ganguly's body language when he came out was pleasing to see. When batsmen are going through a horror patch as he is, there is a tendency either to come in and do too much too soon or to go on the defensive. By contrast, the Indian captain has been very balanced, very composed. There is also great camaraderie between Dravid and Ganguly. Dravid is one player that has always stood up for Ganguly in times of crisis and that makes this partnership just right for India. I was a little disappointed with the way Ramesh batted. Batsmen like Das and Dravid are natural grafters, Ramesh is not. To give him credit, he was working very hard out there. But the defensive outlook doesn't suit him and he is better off playing his natural game and looking to hit boundaries. The fifteen minutes after lunch will be absolutely crucial. Something always happens in that period and if India can emerge unscathed, they will be well on their way to an all too rare Test match victory abroad. Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to Dileep Premachandran.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd