Colombo Test, Day 1, Lunch
Wednesday, August 29, 2001

Sourav Ganguly's decision to bat first on winning the toss was an inspired move. Shiv Sunder Das's excellent batting has enabled India to get off to their best start of the series. Ganguly realised that once the grass cover had been removed, an extra spinner could exploit the conditions later in the Test match. With Sairaj Bahutule in the side to back Harbhajan, clearly the best option was to bat first.

The Indian team looks well balanced and the planning prior to this match appears to have worked well. The Sri Lankans seemed unsettled on the eve of the match. They have gambled heavily in their team selection. On a pitch that has nothing for the seamers, they are completely dependent on Muralitharan. Down the years, the Indians have played him better than anyone else. You can't help but feel that a sense of panic in creeping into the Sri Lankan camp.

Das batted quite beautifully this morning. After his travails in Kandy, it was very important that he didn't get bogged down. The pitch came to his aid as well. Chaminda Vaas, who troubled him so much in the previous game, got almost no movement in the air or off the pitch. The delivery that cuts sharply back in and which tied Das in knots at Kandy wasn't in evidence this morning.

Sadagoppan Ramesh has been slightly disappointing in the way he has eschewed his normal attacking approach. But to his credit, he has hung in there and allowed Das to take the initiative away from Sri Lanka.

Sanjay Manjrekar, a regular in the Indian batting line-up of the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to Dileep Premachandran.

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