When India won her first overseas series for seven years
Partab Ramchand - 13 July 2001
By the time the Indians next toured Sri Lanka in 1993-94, the
equations had changed. Sri Lanka, no longer spring chickens in the
Test arena, had a particularly enviable record at home. And India,
fresh from four consecutive Test victories - albeit on helpful pitches
in India - were in the midst of a successful run under Md Azharuddin's
captaincy. Predictably, there were expectations of a high profile
series between two sides who were enjoying an upswing in their
fortunes. But this never really came about. Again the relations
between the two teams were soured thanks to the umpiring and match
referee Peter Burge was kept busy with complaints, mainly from the
Indians. This and the fact that the first Test was badly affected by
rain made it a middling rather than an absorbing contest.
Indeed, the heavy downpour at Kandy during the first Test made it the
shortest ever Test. Only 12 overs - 49 minutes of play - were possible
on the second day compared to 17.2 overs and 50 minutes in the match
between England and Australia at Nottingham in 1926. Ironically, the
rest day was the sunniest of the week but the Sri Lankan Board said
there was no provision in the playing conditions to make use of it. In
the brief interlude of cricket, Sri Lanka put in to bat, were 24 for
three. About the only item of note was Kapil Dev playing his 125th
Test match, equalling the Indian record held by Sunil Gavaskar.
Ten days later, at the SSC in Colombo, India won the second Test by
235 runs. It was both historic and notable. Historic because it was
the first win by India in a Test on Sri Lankan soil and notable
because it was their first victory in 27 overseas Tests since beating
England at Leeds in 1986. In the interim period, India had lost ten
Tests and drawn 16.
India had led off with 366 thanks in the main to Vinod Kambli's 125.
The Bombay left hander scored his third successive century in Tests,
following his 224 against England and 227 against Zimbabwe the
previous season. Anil Kumble (5 for 87) then kept the Sri Lankans down
to 254 despite a gallant 88 by the captain Arjuna Ranatunga. The lead
of 112 was extended by a first wicket partnership of 171 by Manoj
Prabhakar (95) and Navjot Sidhu. The latter, who got 82 in the first
innings, scored 104, his fourth century in Tests. Sachin Tendulkar
with an unbeaten 104, his sixth century in Tests, maintained the
momentum and India were able to declare at 359 for four on the
penultimate afternoon. Left with a monumental target of 472 - or more
realistically nine hours to play out time - Sri Lanka were progressing
along well at 180 for three before they slid sharply to 236 all out
despite a patient six-hour vigil by Aravinda de Silva who was out for
93.
Eight days later, with a drawn Test at the Saravanamuttu stadium in
Colombo, India had clinched an overseas series triumph for the first
time since they won in England in 1986. Aravinda de Silva with a
splendidly crafted 148 helped Sri Lanka to reach 351. But the bowlers
could make no headway against the strong Indian batting line up. Vinod
Kambli got his fourth hundred in five Tests - including Kandy where he
did not get to bat - and Prabhakar, Tendulkar and Azharuddin all
crossed the half century mark. With India replying with 446 by mid-
afternoon on the fourth day, the fate of the series had been decided
and about the only interest left in the game was whether India would
register a second successive win. But the home team comfortably saved
the game. With opener Roshan Mahanama getting 151 with 19 fours in 520
minutes and sharing a fifth wicket partnership of 132 runs with Hashan
Tillekeratne (86), Sri Lanka closed with 352 for six. An interesting
statistical sidelight was Kapil Dev, close to becoming the highest
wicket taker in Tests, notching up another landmark. He passed Lance
Gibbs' record of 27,115 deliveries in Test cricket.
If the proceedings of the Tests were rather lukewarm, the three one
day internationals provided all the excitement associated with the
shorter version of the game. India won the first by one run with four
deliveries to spare, while Sri Lanka took the second by eight runs
with four deliveries left. The home team won the decider by four
wickets with three deliveries to spare. Azharuddin displayed splendid
form with scores of 53, 62 and 85, the last innings making him India's
top run getter in ODIs with 4114 runs, surpassing K Srikkanth's 4092.
© CricInfo
Teams
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India,
Sri Lanka.
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Players/Umpires
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Mohammad Azharuddin,
Kapil Dev,
Vinod Kambli,
Anil Kumble,
Navjot Sidhu,
Manoj Prabhakar,
Arjuna Ranatunga,
Sachin Tendulkar,
Roshan Mahanama,
Kris Srikkanth.
|
Tournaments
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Coca-Cola Cup (Sri Lanka) |
Internal Links
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India in Sri Lanka, 1993-94.
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