As Rangana Herath steps towards the crease, slightly stubby, a hint of pot-belly pushing against his waistband, his action is so understated that it takes a fraction of a second to realise the ball has already been delivered.

All through the first Test, and the first day of the second, India had been asking why the Lankans rated him so highly and how he had managed to pick up 23 wickets in four matches before coming to these shores. On Wednesday, in a final spell that was a sudden diversion from his performance on the tour so far, the answer was provided.

But ironically, while the left-arm spinner’s afternoon figures of 11-2-18-5 ended Sri Lanka’s misery, they only made things worse for the visitors who had already been flayed for more than 600 runs by the time the track started offering some turn.

With Sri Lanka already having lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the final session (a mishit off a leg-side loosener that gave Zaheer Khan a first-ball present) and Harbhajan Singh bowling with four men surrounding the bat, India’s first innings total of 642 may be enough to force a victory if the pitch deteriorates further over the next three days. Sri Lanka were 66 for one at stumps, with Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana on 30 each.

Almost unplayable

A five-wicket haul in Test cricket can often be a representation of too little, too late in the overall match situation, and Herath’s five for 121 could have been perceived as one such meaningless effort. But it was much more than a small smudge on a large canvas, particularly because it pointed towards what could follow.

... contd.