What a difference a day makes! India began the day looking to get to  400 plus but were under pressure from the first ball with Saurav getting away with a close shout for leg before. Saurav then thrust his pad out hopefully to a Murali doosra he knew nothing about and was rightly given out leg before (40 from 129 – 4/ 254). Murali’s off breaks were spinning viciously and he was bowling doosras at will.

Next to go was Yuvraj for naught (0 from 5 – 5/255). He stood rooted to his crease to one pitched on the leg stump that moved fractionally away, trying to tap it to square leg across the line. He missed the ball which ballooned to forward shortleg off the pad and he was given out. It is unclear whether he was given out leg before or caught but he was neither. In any case, the way he was playing he would not have lasted. His weakness against quality spin has to ironed out if he is to have any hope of a long test career. I hope Greg is working on that. Playing spin is all about using the feet without which the batsman lives on borrowed time.

Sachin left next at the same score, missing a paddle sweep and was given out leg before even though the ball was going outside leg. Pathan left for naught taken bat pad at short leg and India had lost 3 wickets at the same score (7/255). Dhoni hit a nice square cut before being bowled by the ball of the match. It was a vicious doosra that pitched outside leg and spun in to knock his off stump. Dhoni was well forward and missed the ball completely. There isn’t much you can do about a ball like that. Agarkar was unbeaten on 14, Kumble got 8 and Bhajji 7. I would have sent in Bhajji ahead of Agarkar and Kumble to unsettle the spinners. In any case, we were all out for 290. India lost 7 wickets for the addition of only 45 runs in 90 minutes of batting.

The pitch has very low bounce with the occasional ball rearing up from just short of good length. It is slow and the ball will grip the surface more as the game wears on. Even though this guarantees a result, it made batsmen look like fools repeatedly and is not a great advertisement for test cricket.

We started poorly when bowling with Agarkar not looking threatening at all (16- 4-40 0). Pathan was wayward and lucky to get his two wickets. At least Agarakar bowled to the stumps. Pathan got Gunawardene and Sangakkara to reduce Sri Lanka to 62 for 2. At 175 for 2 and with Jayawardene and Atapattu it looked like Sri Lanka were going to make India pay for the collapse in the morning. However, Kumble struck 4 crucial blows, getting Atapattu off the last ball of the day giving the Indian cricket team the edge at the end of day 2. Sri Lanka finished the day on 198 for 6. It just goes to show how valuable he still is to the Indian cricket team.

Murali is clearly the best bowler playing this match and was almost unplayable at times. I have, however, never quite reconciled myself to his action. Although he cannot be blamed for the deformity in his elbow there is no question it gives him an advantage no other bowler can have. Looking at his action closely on day 2, I think it is not difficult to spot his doosra. The doosra is delivered with the dorsal surface of the hand almost vertical and facing the batsmen. The off spinner is delivered with the wrist more side on and the ball clearly visible, while it hides behind the hand when the doosra is delivered. Batsmen have to spot the doosra early if they are to have any hope of surviving. I am sure the team is spending time watching his tapes as I did last night. It is imperative to get a first innings lead for both teams, particularly India. I believe a victory target in excess of 250 will be very difficult for the team batting last. Sri Lanka’s only way to win is to get India out for 200 or so in the second innings. This match will be decided by how we play Murali in the second innings. The same, of course, can be said of the series.