Muttiah Muralitharan triggered India's collapse with four quick wickets to boost Sri Lanka's hopes of enforcing a follow-on in the third Test here on Friday. The wily off-spinner grabbed 4-38 as India struggled to reach 159-6 in their first innings at stumps on the third day in reply to Sri Lanka's mammoth 600-6 declared.
The tourists now require 242 more runs to make Sri Lanka bat again, with Venkatsai Laxman (19 not out) being the only specialist batsman left. Skipper Anil Kumble was unbeaten on one when bad light stopped play. Muralitharan was instrumental in denting India's batting reputation as he claimed four of the five wickets that fell in the closing session. Among his victims was ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar (27).
He was brilliantly supported by debutant Ajantha Mendis, the latest spin sensation who took the important wicket of former India captain Rahul Dravid in his probing 18 overs. "Everyone has to be disappointed with the position we are in. We have to accept responsibility. We have not had a single good session. We now have to bat extremely well from here to save the game," said India coach Gary Kirsten.
"The bowling was disappointing as we failed to keep it in the right areas. There was something in the wicket, but it was not a good effort on the last two days," said Kirsten. Middle-order batsman Dilshan, 20 overnight, hogged the limelight as he completed his fifth Test hundred in the last over of the morning session with a four over mid-wicket off spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Dilshan made the most of the reprieve he earned on Thursday under a new experimental rule allowing players to seek a second opinion on umpiring decisions. He was on one when given out caught behind off seamer Zaheer Khan by umpire Mark Benson of England, but asked the official to review the decision.
Benson consulted TV umpire Rudi Koertzen of South Africa before changing his decision as the ball had not made contact with the bat. India's first success came when Samaraweera (127) cut Zaheer straight to Laxman at gully. The batsman added 16 to his overnight score of 111, hitting 18 fours in his 224-ball knock. Dilshan gathered runs comfortably, playing handsome shots during his 170-ball knock containing one six and 12 fours.
SCOREBOARD
SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS (OVERNIGHT 422-4):
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M. Vandort c Karthik b Sharma 3
M. Warnapura c Dravid b Harbhajan 115
K. Sangakkara c Dravid b Zaheer 12
M. Jayawardene c Karthik b Sharma 136
T. Samaraweera c Laxman b Zaheer 127
T. Dilshan not out 125
P. Jayawardene c Sharma b Harbhajan 30
C. Vaas not out 22
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EXTRAS: (b4, lb5, nb18, w3) 30
TOTAL: (for six wickets declared) 600
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FALL OF WICKETS: 1-7 (Vandort), 2-57 (Sangakkara), 3-212 (Warnapura), 4-360 (M. Jayawardene), 5-454 (Samaraweera), 6-545 (P. Jayawardene).
BOWLING: Zaheer 37-2-156-2 (nb12, w2), Sharma 33-4-124-2 (w1), Ganguly 8-1-24-0, Harbhajan 43-2-149-2, Kumble 37-4-121-0 (nb6), Sehwag 4-0-17-0.
OVERS: 162
INDIA 1ST INNINGS
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G. Gambhir c Samaraweera b Murali 39
V. Sehwag c Warnapura b Kulasekara 25
R. Dravid b Mendis 14
S. Tendulkar b Muralitharan 27
S. Ganguly c Kulasekara b Murali 23
V. Laxman not out 19
D. Karthik c and b Muralitharan 9
A. Kumble not out 1
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EXTRAS: (lb2) 2
TOTAL: (for six wickets) 159
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FALL OF WICKET: 1-36 (Sehwag), 2-79 (Gambhir), 3-79 (Dravid), 4-123 (Tendulkar), 5-138 (Ganguly), 6-147 (Karthik).
BOWLING: Vaas 5-0-23-0, Kulasekara 7-0-38-1, Mendis 18-3-58-1, Muralitharan 15-3-38-4.
OVERS: 45
TOSS: Sri Lanka
UMPIRES: Mark Benson (ENG) and Billy Doctrove (WIS)
TV UMPIRE: Rudi Koertzen (RSA)
MATCH REFEREE: Alan Hurst (AUS).
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