<p>All this, however, wasn’t handed to them on a platter at the Galle International stadium on an emotional Thursday. India showed rare gumption and application through their lower-order and the man who bats the best in the team with the tail, VVS Laxman, to extend the contest to beyond tea on the final day when the events of the morning suggested an early finish.<br /><br />That’s about the only positive, apart from the impressive debut of Abhimanyu Mithun, the visitors can take going into the second Test beginning at the SSC grounds in Colombo on Monday. India must win that match if they are to give themselves a chance of clinching their first series win in Sri Lanka in 17 years.<br /><br />Overnight 181 for five and needing a further 63 to make the Lankans bat again, India appeared to have shot themselves in the foot when Lasith Malinga fired out Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the day’s second over, and Muralitharan trapped Harbhajan Singh in front a quarter of an hour later.<br /><br />Laxman marshalled the tail wonderfully well, Mithun, Ishant Sharma and Ojha all showing tremendous pluck and keeping Muralitharan and Malinga at bay for long periods so that India, by the time Murali ended his nervy quest for wicket number 800, had put 338 on the board for a token lead of 94.<br /><br />It was a target that wasn’t going to ever test the hosts, but Tillakaratne Dilshan made it look positively anaemic, launching a blistering attack to hasten the end and leave India’s bowlers searching for more answers after their less than impeccable showing in the first innings.<br /><br />Much of the interest on the final day centred not so much around whether the Lankans would canter home as whether Muralitharan would keep his tryst with history. Heavy early morning showers proved no deterrent at a ground beautifully maintained, and if India had to escape with a draw, it had to be well earned.<br /><br />There were few signs of the fightback to follow and the frustrating wait the Lankans were to endure when Dhoni failed to pick a Malinga yorker and was bowled off his pads early on. Harbhajan’s ordinary Test extended to an ordinary stroke, a sweep against Muralitharan that caught him palpably in front. Not only did the end appear nigh, it seemed only a matter of time before Murali reached number 800, perched as he was on 799.<br /><br />A packed gathering, Sri Lanka’s players and perhaps even the Indian dressing room had reckoned without Laxman’s mettle and the determination of the lower order. Sri Lanka’s tactics centred almost exclusively around a Test win, though Kumar Sangakkara gave Muralitharan every chance to accomplish a monumental milestone, what with the ace offie bowling 26.1 of the 56.1 overs sent down by the hosts.<br /><br />A slowing surface and the Laxman-led revival often had the Lankans searching for ideas, their cause not helped by a stiffening Malinga leaving the field for attention. In his absence, the attack looked toothless, Laxman’s reassuring presence complemented by Mithun’s tenacity during an eighth-wicket association spanning an hour and yielding 49 runs.<br /><br />It required man of the match Malinga, back on the park, to produce another screaming yorker to account for Mithun, but India weren’t done yet. Ishant associated himself in another productive association with Laxman, of 68, as Sri Lankan nerves began to jangle. More than the runs scored and the time taken up, it was the ease with which Muralitharan was negotiated that set hearts aflutter at the packed house.<br />Laxman’s run out attempting to farm the strike sent fresh hope coursing through the veins. Muralitharan ran in purposefully all over again, having gone wicketless for 141 deliveries between number 799 and 800. The 142nd took a resilient Ojha’s outside edge, and Mahela Jayawardene flung himself to his left at first slip to hold on to the ball for dear life. Mission accomplished, in style!<br /><br />SCORE BOARD<br />SRI LANKA (I Innings): 520/8 decl in 124 overs<br />INDIA (I Innings): 276 all out<br />INDIA (II Innings, O/n: 181/5):<br />Laxman (run out) 69<br />(194m, 127b, 5x4)<br />Dhoni b Malinga 4<br />(7m, 5b, 1x4)<br />Harbhajan lbw Muralitharan 8<br />(13m, 13b, 1x4)<br />Mithun lbw Malinga 25<br />(61m, 59b, 5x4)<br />Ishant (not out) 31<br />(126m, 106b, 4x4)<br />Ojha c M J’rdene b M’tran 13<br />(54m, 50b, 1x4)<br />Extras (B-5, LB-9, W-2, NB-8) 24<br />Total (all out, 115.4 overs) 338<br />Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gambhir), 2-42 (Sehwag), 3-161 (Dravid), 4-172 (Tendulkar), 5-181 (Yuvraj), 6-186 (Dhoni), 7-197 (Harbhajan), 8-246 (Mithun), 9-314 (Laxman).<br />Bowling: Malinga 17-2-50-5 (nb-2), Welegedara 10-2-43-1 (w-1, nb-3), Herath 27-3-60-0 (nb-2), Mathews 7-3-13-0 (w-1), Muralitharan 44.4-7-128-3 (nb-1), Dilshan 10-1-30-0.<br />SRI LANKA (II Innings):<br />Paranavitana (not out) 23<br />(70m, 42b, 4x4)<br />Dilshan (not out) 68<br />(70m, 47b, 6x4, 1x6)<br />Extras (W-1, NB-4) 5<br />Total (for no loss, 14.1 overs) 96<br />Bowling: Mithun 5-0-33-0 (w-1), Ishant Sharma 4-0-28-0 (nb-4), Pragyan Ojha 3-0-11-0, Harbhajan Singh 2.1-0-24-0.</p>
<p>All this, however, wasn’t handed to them on a platter at the Galle International stadium on an emotional Thursday. India showed rare gumption and application through their lower-order and the man who bats the best in the team with the tail, VVS Laxman, to extend the contest to beyond tea on the final day when the events of the morning suggested an early finish.<br /><br />That’s about the only positive, apart from the impressive debut of Abhimanyu Mithun, the visitors can take going into the second Test beginning at the SSC grounds in Colombo on Monday. India must win that match if they are to give themselves a chance of clinching their first series win in Sri Lanka in 17 years.<br /><br />Overnight 181 for five and needing a further 63 to make the Lankans bat again, India appeared to have shot themselves in the foot when Lasith Malinga fired out Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the day’s second over, and Muralitharan trapped Harbhajan Singh in front a quarter of an hour later.<br /><br />Laxman marshalled the tail wonderfully well, Mithun, Ishant Sharma and Ojha all showing tremendous pluck and keeping Muralitharan and Malinga at bay for long periods so that India, by the time Murali ended his nervy quest for wicket number 800, had put 338 on the board for a token lead of 94.<br /><br />It was a target that wasn’t going to ever test the hosts, but Tillakaratne Dilshan made it look positively anaemic, launching a blistering attack to hasten the end and leave India’s bowlers searching for more answers after their less than impeccable showing in the first innings.<br /><br />Much of the interest on the final day centred not so much around whether the Lankans would canter home as whether Muralitharan would keep his tryst with history. Heavy early morning showers proved no deterrent at a ground beautifully maintained, and if India had to escape with a draw, it had to be well earned.<br /><br />There were few signs of the fightback to follow and the frustrating wait the Lankans were to endure when Dhoni failed to pick a Malinga yorker and was bowled off his pads early on. Harbhajan’s ordinary Test extended to an ordinary stroke, a sweep against Muralitharan that caught him palpably in front. Not only did the end appear nigh, it seemed only a matter of time before Murali reached number 800, perched as he was on 799.<br /><br />A packed gathering, Sri Lanka’s players and perhaps even the Indian dressing room had reckoned without Laxman’s mettle and the determination of the lower order. Sri Lanka’s tactics centred almost exclusively around a Test win, though Kumar Sangakkara gave Muralitharan every chance to accomplish a monumental milestone, what with the ace offie bowling 26.1 of the 56.1 overs sent down by the hosts.<br /><br />A slowing surface and the Laxman-led revival often had the Lankans searching for ideas, their cause not helped by a stiffening Malinga leaving the field for attention. In his absence, the attack looked toothless, Laxman’s reassuring presence complemented by Mithun’s tenacity during an eighth-wicket association spanning an hour and yielding 49 runs.<br /><br />It required man of the match Malinga, back on the park, to produce another screaming yorker to account for Mithun, but India weren’t done yet. Ishant associated himself in another productive association with Laxman, of 68, as Sri Lankan nerves began to jangle. More than the runs scored and the time taken up, it was the ease with which Muralitharan was negotiated that set hearts aflutter at the packed house.<br />Laxman’s run out attempting to farm the strike sent fresh hope coursing through the veins. Muralitharan ran in purposefully all over again, having gone wicketless for 141 deliveries between number 799 and 800. The 142nd took a resilient Ojha’s outside edge, and Mahela Jayawardene flung himself to his left at first slip to hold on to the ball for dear life. Mission accomplished, in style!<br /><br />SCORE BOARD<br />SRI LANKA (I Innings): 520/8 decl in 124 overs<br />INDIA (I Innings): 276 all out<br />INDIA (II Innings, O/n: 181/5):<br />Laxman (run out) 69<br />(194m, 127b, 5x4)<br />Dhoni b Malinga 4<br />(7m, 5b, 1x4)<br />Harbhajan lbw Muralitharan 8<br />(13m, 13b, 1x4)<br />Mithun lbw Malinga 25<br />(61m, 59b, 5x4)<br />Ishant (not out) 31<br />(126m, 106b, 4x4)<br />Ojha c M J’rdene b M’tran 13<br />(54m, 50b, 1x4)<br />Extras (B-5, LB-9, W-2, NB-8) 24<br />Total (all out, 115.4 overs) 338<br />Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Gambhir), 2-42 (Sehwag), 3-161 (Dravid), 4-172 (Tendulkar), 5-181 (Yuvraj), 6-186 (Dhoni), 7-197 (Harbhajan), 8-246 (Mithun), 9-314 (Laxman).<br />Bowling: Malinga 17-2-50-5 (nb-2), Welegedara 10-2-43-1 (w-1, nb-3), Herath 27-3-60-0 (nb-2), Mathews 7-3-13-0 (w-1), Muralitharan 44.4-7-128-3 (nb-1), Dilshan 10-1-30-0.<br />SRI LANKA (II Innings):<br />Paranavitana (not out) 23<br />(70m, 42b, 4x4)<br />Dilshan (not out) 68<br />(70m, 47b, 6x4, 1x6)<br />Extras (W-1, NB-4) 5<br />Total (for no loss, 14.1 overs) 96<br />Bowling: Mithun 5-0-33-0 (w-1), Ishant Sharma 4-0-28-0 (nb-4), Pragyan Ojha 3-0-11-0, Harbhajan Singh 2.1-0-24-0.</p>
