***Official*** Sri Lanka in India

[Jono]

Hats off to Laxman, Dhoni and once again Pathan. Laxman, from the looks of it, curved his natural game and saw out the tough period keeping India in the game. Dhoni provided good support whilst scoring at a fast rate (he's really adjusted to test level well, batting wise at least) and when Dhoni fell on 49, the man of the moment Pathan gave Laxman good support to and is still unbeaten.

Great recovery from India. If Laxman can go on, and India can get to 350 I'd be delighted.

 

[Anil]

gambhir, kaif and yuvraj failed....this will hearten the ganguly supporters....

india must miss dravid...the kind of back-to-the-wall situation post-lunch would've been tailor-made for him....

 

[Pratters]

Superb effort from Laxman and kudos to Pathan too to make crucial runs.

 

[foe]

well played innings by Laxman

out for 104

 

[JASON]

Congrats to Laxman.

SL and Bandara have genuine reasons to be annoyed with the Ump. who failed to give him out yesterday.

But fortune favours the brave. And VVS has used the opportunity well to cash in.

Congrats VVS.

 

[Jono]

Oh VVS Laxman and Pathan how good can you get?!

Great ton for Laxman! Disappointing he got out soon after he brought it up, but he's rescued India again and Pathan has provided great support for another half century. Can't bat? No allround potential? Where have all those posters gone now?

 

[Arjun]

Irfan doesn't have much support now, so he should hog the strike and hit more big shots, with the massive cushion of runs behind him.

 

[Arjun]

There's always a lot of action when Irfan is involved. Malinga bowls a snorter that hits Irfan below the neck, Irfan looks at him stone-faced, then hooks a short one for just a single.

LAUGH LINE: A commentator said that Agarkar should be more consistent. Come to think of it, he's always consistent. It's just that he rarely scores 20 runs or more.

 

[Jono]

Argh! Pathan misses out on his maiden century again. Out in the 80s this time. Absolute top knock from him though, he just continues to improve with the bat and ball.

 

[JustTool]

Javagal Srinath needs to retire...

Paying good money to watch this on DirecTV. The commentators are, without exception, abysmal. Led, or rather mis-led by Mr. Srinath. The guys is just awful. His english is the pits, his observations are nonsensical and we should be paid to listen to him - not the other way around.

The guy was a great bowler, but his commentary is far worse than his batting.

Please, lords of Indian cricket can we get some decent commentators. THIS IS RIDICULOUS !

 

[JustTool]

Another gem of a 'comment' by Mr. Javagal

"Harbhajan will soon get into his hoisting business"

 

[irfan]

Oh VVS Laxman and Pathan how good can you get?!

Great ton for Laxman! Disappointing he got out soon after he brought it up, but he's rescued India again and Pathan has provided great support for another half century. Can't bat? No allround potential? Where have all those posters gone now?

Don't Kno. Don't care. Well played Laxman & Pathan u have given us a wonderful platform to really set up the rest of the match

 

[Jono]

THARANGA GONE! Pathan's got him!

He can do no wrong can young Irfan!!!

 

[Jono]

Atapattu gone now after a good partnership with Sangakkara. Once again, India just being bowling disciplined and patient knowing the wickets will come, and it did. This time Bhajji makes the break through. Atapattu keeps getting starts but is unable to go on with them, out for 40.

Jayawardene out first ball to Harbhajan!

 

[irfan]

double strike by harbajan got rid of the dangerous duo

 

[Jono]

YES! Bhajji gets Samaraweera and then the big one, Sangakkara!!! He has 4 big wickets now!

SL in all sorts of trouble at 5/115, they need someone to pull a Laxman and some others to pull a Dhoni/Pathan or they will be staring down the barrel.

 

[social]

Laxman's hundred again shed proper light on that ridiculous thread where some rated KP as being a better player than him.

VVS is a wonderful, if enigmatic, player.

 

[Steulen]

Laxman's hundred again shed proper light on that ridiculous thread where some rated KP as being a better player than him.

VVS is a wonderful, if enigmatic, player.

Hmmm...still not convinced about Laxman. Yes, he can score extraordinary tons, but why has he got only 9 of them? That is too few for a player of his talent.

 

[Jono]

He scores them in crisis situations, which is fine for India. Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar get enough tons, and Laxman comes to the party when the pressure is really on.

 

[Arjun]

Positives for India:

• Irfan gets yet another sizeable score in the series, putting pressure on the Lankan bowlers. It's not just the score that counts, but also the partnerships he built, first with Laxman, then Agarkar. Not to mention, his aggression got the pressure off the Indians, and this should be used more often– even if the team doesn't call him an all-rounder– which is a tactical decision.
• Laxman gets yet another century in a time of crisis. He has superior cricketing intelligence to the ODI specialists in the Indian side, so one may ask– why can't he play ODI's?
• Harbhajan got four more wickets, which will exert even more pressure on the Lankans, who are trailing a total close to 400.

But still.......

• The pacers are not getting enough wickets. You can't bank on Kumble and Harbhajan to run through teams all the time, even at home. The pacers have to step up. Irfan has some potential, but he's not one who can do it alone, and he lacks support. Having Agarkar as a strike partner is as good as having no strike partner at all.
• Not too bad otherwise......

Positives for Lanka:

• Malinga can bowl fast and is a good attacking option with the new ball. He got awkward bounce, and can be unplayable at least twice an over.
• Maharoof has done well as a support seamer, bowling several maidens. That, coupled with his big shots, can make him a key selection.
• Fielding in the inner ring has been sharp, especially at point.

But the negatives.....

• Murali didn't get too many wickets, and went for over 120. You can't win matches with only one bowler.
• Tailenders frustrated them a little too much– the bowlers are getting tired, and it's shown.
• None of the top seven batsmen stayed on to get a big score– too many starts frittered away.