After the build-up, the rain

It was a slow death for fans as rains delayed the long-awaited sighting of the men in whites after several recent doses of the game’s two shorter versions. Later, with Sri Lanka opting to bat, the big suspense about whether the high-profile Indian batting would solve the Mendis mystery, too, got postponed. The only thing that was unveiled was the ground (a little late in the day), and the only mystery was how the outfield was ready for play despite rudimentary covers glued to the surface by truck tyres.

With just 22 overs of play possible, Day One was not even like a teaser to a much-hyped movie. The players we saw at the SSC were the second-string stars who generally have ‘and’ or ‘also’ prefixed to their names when the credits roll out. A wicket each for India’s new-ball bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, plus an unbeaten century by Lankan opener Malinda Warnapura, had the home team finish at 85-2 after they won the toss. One of the stars — Kumar Sangakkara — did make a brief appearance but disappeared after a few punch-lines.

Overcast conditions

When the game started in the late afternoon, Zaheer and Sharma got the setting they would have hoped for when they sweated it out in the nets on the eve of the Test. Hydration wasn’t an issue and the pitch was lively because of the overcast conditions. Ishant made the first breakthrough, getting one to really take-off and force the edge from opener Michael Vandort. Wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik took a fine catch above his head on the left.

On the other end, Zaheer showed some spark as well and there were a few shouts of lbw but no one on the field drew a T towards the third umpire after the confident appeals were turned down. Eventually, Zaheer struck a vital blow when he had Sangakkara caught by Rahul Dravid at second slip. It was easily the ‘play of the day’ since the delivery was exactly opposite to the one with which Sharma got Vandort — it showed how the two bowlers perfectly complement each other. While Sharma’s ball had kicked off and quite moved away from the left-handed batsman, Zaheer’s delivery pitched at perfect length and came in with precise movement.

More rain predicted

When the Lankans walked away after they were offered the light, skipper Mahela Jayawardene had Warnapura for company on 50 not out. On Thursday, Zaheer and Ishant will once again get a chance to break this right-left combination. But at what time that will happen is debatable since the met office says the rain clouds over Colombo will not vanish for the next four days.

There was another interesting miss on the opening day. Sachin Tendulkar, who fielded at first slip, was just two catches away from completing a different kind of Test century. Two snicks flew from the bat towards the slip cordon, one to the keeper and the other to Dravid at second slip. Despite so much on the cards, it seemed Cricket history kept managing to elude the 23rd of July.