If it swings, Lakmal will get you!

Gaurav Kanthwal

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 10

During the Test series against Sri Lanka, the home team had sought South Africa-like wickets to prepare for next-month’s three-Test series in that country. In Kolkata, it turned out to be more like an England wicket due to the rain and overcast conditions. In Nagpur, the experiment flopped, and in Delhi the wicket was like any Ferozeshah Kotla wicket.

After the Test series, the preparation buzz for the South Africa tour has subsided, but this Dharamsala wicket was just what India wanted in the Test series — it helped the pace bowlers move the ball in the air and off the surface. And again, the frailties of the Indian batsmen came to the fore.

Trouble

First in Kolkata and now in Dharamsala, there have been enough signs to indicate that the Indian batsmen would find themselves in a spot of bother in South Africa next month. In less than a month’s time, Suranga Lakmal has twice exposed the Indian batsmen’s weakness in seaming conditions. He did it in Kolkata with a fiery opening spell under overcast conditions and reaped a seven-wicket haul (4/26 and 3/93) in the first Test. He did it again in Dharamsala with a career-best haul of 4/13 in conditions that, for the first time, were similar to those in South Africa.

The Sri Lankan medium-pacer was virtually unplayable on a wicket that offered pace, bounce and lateral movement, beating the batsmen repeatedly.

Shikhar Dhawan (0) played with his lead boots on. Calling Rohit Sharma’s (2) footwork lazy would be an understatement. Debutant Shreyas Iyer’s 27-ball knock was nothing but jittery. His misery finally ended with a cross-batted shot in the most adverse of situations. Worst of all, Dinesh Karthik, India’s tentative No. 4, couldn’t score a single run in his 18-ball knock. Manish Pandey (2) perished at the slips.

Lack of technique, non-existent footwork in seaming conditions and inability to play short balls — all point at trouble overseas for India’s batsmen.

Stuck to guns

It is not that Lakmal did anything extraordinary. He was disciplined and stuck to his guns. Restricting himself to bowling in good length areas, Lakmal was successful in extracting steep bounce to unsettle the top order.

And he made the batsmen’s stay at the crease miserable bowling in the high 120s-kmph, occasionally touching 135-kmph.

To his credit, the 31-year-old pacer bowled his entire quota of 10 overs in one spell, giving no breathing space to the Indian batsmen once the first two wickets fell and the fragile middle order found the going tough.

Two times during this tour, Sri Lanka’s pacers have got conditions that helped them, and the home team has failed both times.

In less than four weeks, India will play South Africa in the first Test, beginning January 5. If Lakmal can trouble India with his 120-130-kmph deliveries in seaming conditions, India can expect missiles from the likes of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and the awkward bounce of Morne Morkel on South African wickets that are venomous in nature.