There haven't been too many good days for the Indians on this tour. The third and final Test is providing the team some relief after two Tests during which they were always playing catch-up. It also, once again, showcased the spine of the Indian lower-order, which was chiefly responsible for the team gaining a first innings lead, albeit just eleven runs.
The Indian tail has wagged on more than one occasion in this series, but Thursday's contribution of 86 runs by the last three batsmen was worth much more than the sum of their total. It was a psychological blow for the Sri Lankans after they had picked up the wickets of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in the first session in quick succession, and then got VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina in a span of four overs after lunch.When Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the last recognised batsmen in the line-up, fell to an ill-timed pull, the side needed another 76 runs to go into the lead. Laxman and Raina had fallen to Ajantha Mendis's carrom ball while Tendulkar and Sehwag were rather casual in their shot selection.On the P Sara Oval wicket, one which is expected to assist greater turn for the spinners, any significant lead conceded to the Sri Lankans would have made the dice heavily loaded against the hosts, who would have to bat last.
Abhimanyu Mithun and Amit Mishra put on 74 runs for the eight wicket. Mithun, no slouch with the bat at the domestic level, has gained in confidence while batting. At Galle, he batted at No. 10 and made eight. In the second innings, batting at No. 8, he scored 25. At the SSC at No. 9, he scored 41 along with Ishant Sharma, who made 27. Their partnership helped India reach 707 after Sri Lanka had posted 642. Pragyan Ojha made 18 off 92 balls to further frustrate the Sri Lankans in the second Test.
Mithun impressive
Among those who bat down the order, Mithun has been the most impressive. Here he batted at No. 8, hitting Mendis for three boundaries to upset the rhythm of the spinner, who had bowled a tight spell riddled with dismissals until then.Lasith Malinga used the bouncer often as India edged closer to the Sri Lankan first innings total. One of the shorter balls hit Mithun on the chest. To another bouncer, Mithun used his bat to keep it away from hitting his helmet. A third short ball hit him on the gloves and Mithun was wincing in pain. Yorkers from Malinga were kept out. Mithun responded with a ferocious cut through point, which raced to the boundary.
Mishra was dropped early in his innings by Angelo Mathews in the slips off Malinga. The leg-spinner, however, didn't get flustered. He stayed out of the line of Malinga's bouncers and often took the bottom hand off the bat to make the short ball drop dead.Mishra didn't get intimidated by Malinga's aggression. He picked up a yorker and flicked it to the fine leg boundary. While facing Mendis he used his feet well to get to the pitch of the ball and then whip it through the leg side. The highlight of Mishra's innings, apart from his doggedness, was the paddle scoop he executed to earn boundaries.Two doubtful decisions from umpire Rod Tucker, the first against Mithun and the next against Ishant Sharma prevented the tailenders from adding to the total.
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