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Hawk eye! Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in full flow on Day Four of the first Test against india at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo recently. India lost the match by an innings and 239 runs as Murali finished with 11 for 110. pic/AFP |
Not many have been able to handle his spin tricks at the Galle Stadium. His loop and big turn becomes even more difficult to handle at this venue situated right next to the coast.
Experts reckon he loves to bowl from the Fort end and uses the sea breeze blowing from the west side of the ground to deadly effect. The drift he gets on the ball with the aid of the breeze is devastating. The figures speak for itself 91 wickets in 12 Tests.
Eight wicket haul
The last time India played here, Murali routed them with an eight-wicket haul. And, with figures of 29-4-84-5 and 13-3-26-6 in the two innings of the first Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Murali is brimming with confidence.
"I would not call this my favourite ground as I love to play in Kandy, but I have enjoyed a lot of success here. The wicket offers turn and I like bowling in Galle," said Muralitharan.
The Indian batsmen surely have their task cut out to handle the spin ace at a ground where he averages 16.51.
Murali's performance in the first game proved that he is bowling at his best. He really let it rip and bamboozled the Indian batsmen with his angles and variations.
Murali vs Sachin
One of the most fascinating periods of play in the first Test was when he was bowling to India's champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar. The Mumbai player was reading him well and dealing confidently with his missiles till the wily fox induced him to make mistakes in both the innings. In the first essay he had him playing the ball on to his stumps while in the second, he foxed him to play a loose shot outside the leg stump. On both occasions, Murali got him while bowling round the wicket.
Round One has gone to Murali and the Indian champion's ego has been hurt. Murali will do well to note that the Indian think-tank has been sincerely doing their homework and getting a gameplan ready for the home team's terror for the big battle at his favourite hunting ground.
It is learnt that to counter the off-spinner's round the wicket line of attack, Tendulkar has been advised to make some adjustments to where he takes his guard and the gap between his feet in his stance.
If Murali has great success here, Tendulkar loves to bat on Sri Lankan wickets as well. Overall he averages 54.43 in 13 Tests against Lanka, but in the five Tests he has played in the Emerald Islands, he averages 66.66.
The winner of the battle between these two legends will provide a big advantage to his team. Murali goes in as favourite in Round Two as well, but expect Tendulkar to spring a surprise.
