India dominate the match - Kanpur first day

What was supposed to be a 'more bowler-friendly wicket' turned out to be a graveyard for bowlers. Especially with Sri Lanka packing their side with 3 spinners, it proved to be a nightmare for their bowlers. Never have the Indian batsmen played so dominantly in their history. MS Dhoni did the right thing by opting to bat, after winning the toss. The first day, first session show his top-order performed in the first test was absent - to the misery of the Lankans.

Sehwag was dropped at 0 and made the best use of the chance - a century to him and a double-century opening stand with Gautam Gambhir set the tone for India. It was batting at its best. After the initial overs where he was circumspect, Sehwag opened out and his Strike Rate zoomed from thirties at one stage to more than hundred by the time he was out. Again, the bowling was at his mercy and only he could get himself out by a false stroke - this was evident by the way he stayed at the crease after his dismissal - a golden opportunity lost.

Gambhir continued his good run at the crease and reached his own century in the company of Rahul Dravid. The two continued the good work with a decent strike-rate (4 runs per over) to take India to 300 before Tea. Probably the fisrt time that a team had scored 300 in the first 2 sessions of a test match. He continued to accumulate runs after tea till a good catch by Murali sent him back for a well-made 167.

Rahul Dravid picked up the baton from Sehwag and started turning over the singles with Gambhir - he played his usual act while the stroke-maker made merry. The Wall is well and truly in full force - it will be a big hole to fill, if and when he decides to hang up his boots. He is on course to complete another century tomorrow - as is Sachin Tendulkar.

Sri Lanka suffered from their over-dependence on spin. Ajantha Mendis had his bowling smashed to all parts of the ground. The opening bowlers did not receive any support from the pitch to make any dent. If India gets its act together, the SriLankans are on their way to a loss in this test match. Obviously, a very early statement but Sri Lanka can do their best to prove me wrong.

The Session-dashboard does not show the exact dominance of the Indian team - because there is no points for dominating the match in such a manner. Each session is worth one point only and that is what India got in every session. The Lankans should get India out quickly tomorrow and hope for a good start. The pitch still looked good and I dont see any reason why the batsmen to follow Dravid and Tendulkar should not improve their averages.



Want to know how this works - check this blog post.