Tendulkar drops anchor

Tendulkar over this past decade has not only learnt to play according to his strengths,which are many,but has also perfected the practice of playing without risk. He is conscious of the many shots he can play but executes only the one which is least dangerous.

On the last visit,Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas dismissed him on two occasions. Mendis trapped him in front with a googly in the third Test,the only time the unorthodox spinner dismissed him. The memories of the unforgettable series in 2008 were returning during the morning session.

Virender Sehwag had fallen when on 99,stumped,after charging down the track and missing Suraj Randiv’s doosra. Rahul Dravid was trapped in front after staying on the back foot to a ball that spun sharply from Randiv. Mendis had got rid of Murali Vijay with a googly. Along with Laxman,Tendulkar started rebuilding the innings after the three quick wickets. Mendis used the googly in an attempt to beat Tendulkar. Tendulkar didn’t read it well the first time. The next googly from Mendis was flicked towards Kumar Sangakkara at short mid-wicket. Luckily for the Indian maestro the ball fell short.

Though the Indians have stressed that they read Mendis much better now,neither Laxman or Tendulkar was willing to get ambitious against the Sri Lankan spinner. The run rate dipped but both the senior batsmen were willing to bide their time. Their stand ended when Laxman was beaten by a googly from Mendis and declared lbw.

It brought to the wicket debutant Suresh Raina. Tendulkar’s presence in the middle can be a morale booster for anyone and Raina was greeted with a briefing from Tendulkar. Right through the early part of his innings Tendulkar was content to wait for the ball to turn and then execute his shot.

He used the late cut to crack boundaries against Randiv and unsettled the debutant spinner by not letting him settle into a rhythm. Tendulkar lofted Randiv over long-on to bring up his half-century.

The carrom balls from Mendis were left alone and he used soft hands to play deliveries which turned late. It was only after reaching his century did Tendulkar hit Mendis for a four,his first of the day against the spinner.

Raina took time to get used to the spinners,both of whom he hadn’t played before. But he quickly got on top of the situation and eased the pressure by scoring boundaries off Mendis. They stitched together an unbeaten fifth wicket stand of 141,with Raina making his half-century,to give India a good chance of avoiding the follow on. Tendulkar was at the heart of the fightback,after the Sri Lankan spinners had struck body blows,while Raina,willing to take a leaf out his partner’s book,curbed his attacking instincts to fashion a knock that would have got the maestro’s approval.