The Eden Garden saga

The Feroz Shah Kotla episode has rubbed more salt into the Sri Lankan wounds. If the more than impressive total of 313 had been defended a few days ago at the Eden Gardens, then Sri Lanka might have gone back after drawing the series 2-2 (which would be a very good return from the tour). The match @ Kolkata must have been painful to watch for a Sri Lankan supporter. Sri Lanka did all the hard work for the best part of 54 overs and then threw it all away.

I was speaking to a friend during the Indian run chase and when the big 2 had been dismissed, I told him that this was almost déjà-vu (the 1996 world cup semi-final). The only missing pieces were a complete collapse and crowd trouble. Some time later, I told him that if Gambhir and Kohli did pull off the chase, then I would write a blog about it (my next post). Right now, I want to only write about how a team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Considering the following

• Sri Lanka were trailing 1-2 in the series with another game to go
• They had to win both matches
• If Sri Lanka gambled and went for the victory at Kolkata, had they pulled it off, then India would have had to go to Delhi on the back of a loss and in a must-win situation. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it) for them, they have not had to play a bilateral series where the final match was the series decider, for some time and so, it would have been very interesting had the series drawn level.

In soccer, I have often seen the situation where a team that is trailing by, say a goal, (or with the scores level, needing nothing but a victory to move ahead in the league / tournament) going into the last few minutes of play, puts all its players forward in the hope of getting that all-important goal. The philosophy is that even if you concede a goal because of attacking with everyone, the result will still be the same. This is a calculated gamble that captains sometimes must take.

Kumar Sangakkara has been blamed by many for his un-imaginative captaincy. I do not know if it is lack of imagination or unwillingness to sometimes go for the kill while taking the risk of losing a match. I believe that Sangakkara is the best player in the squad. He is very committed towards the team’s cause and is one of the most technically gifted batsmen in the line-up, apart from being an excellent wicket-keeper. However, it is his leadership skills that I am not yet convinced about.

He was aware that on a good batting track @ Cuttack, it was his wicket that led to a dramatic collapse and gifted India a series lead. So, when Dilshan’s wicket fell @ Kolkata, he decided to curb his attacking instincts in the hope that in case he stayed at the wicket till the 30-40 over mark, the team could then go all in and get a big total. This part was executed well and 313, which was the highest score at the venue, must have made the Lankans smile thinking that half the job was done.

India, on their part, also did the Sri Lankans a favor. This was the first time in 5 years that they were playing an ODI without either Dhoni or Yuvraj, the cornerstones of their middle order, in the squad. Add to it the fact that the top 3 in the lineup were their most experienced and in-form batsmen meant that the job was simple – Get into the middle order which lacks big match experience / performances and put pressure on them and they will crumble.

With Sachin and Sehwag dismissed within 5 overs, victory was almost in sight. Then the mistakes came (but unexpectedly, from the Sri Lankans).

• At the end of over #10, Sangakkara failed to inform the umpire about the bowling power play which the fielding side usually takes at the end of powerplay #1 so that they can get it over with. He realized this in the middle of over 11 and so, the powerplay was taken at over 12.

- India had a similar situation (run chase) a few months ago at Vadodra. The target at that time was 293 and Sachin and Sehwag were dismissed in 8 overs. That time, the partnership between Gambhir and Kohli was starting to blossom when the Aussies pulled the plug. It took all of 3 quiet overs to get Kohli impatient and drew the error from the batsman.

• Sangakkara need not have known this fact. Kohli was playing in his 14^th ODI and hadn’t made a big knock yet. His only noteworthy effort in a runchase was the 79 against an under-strength West Indies side, when the target was 129.
• At the end of over 16, India had scored only 24 runs in the bowling powerplay. It was clear that the pressure was working and more of it was required to keep the batsmen bogged down and induce errors.
• The pair scored 120 runs in the next 20 overs when the field was spread out. Sangakkara was playing the waiting game hoping for mistakes to come from the batsmen.
• We now know about the 100-odd singles in the partnership. Its hard to imagine that none of Jayawardane, Jayasuriya and Sangakkara, at any point, saw this as a problem area and looked to address it. Malinga was expected to be a potent weapon but he was anything but… Too many boundary balls were bowled by him. But this cannot be the excuse.
• The conditions with the dew in the pitch made it very hard to bowl. But letting 100 singles being scored does not help the cause (each time a single was scored, the ball invariably reached the outfield which was already dew-laden. All the more reason to prevent singles. The target was in excess of 300. A few boundaries was more than just a calculated risk the captain could have exchanged for possibly precious wickets.

But we will never know. Credit will only go to Gambhir and Kohli (deservedly so) for the perseverance shown on the field and for the maturity with which the chase was orchestrated.