July 29: Stubborn efforts from Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina stubbed out the last competitive element the fourth day of this dying secnd Test had in store. Equally responsible efforts from skipper M.S. Dhoni and Abhimanyu Mithun carried India to 669/9 at stumps and the final day promises to be a meaningless exercise carried on purely for statistical purposes.

For the record, Tendulkar made 203 (516m, 347b, 23x4, 1x6) and Suresh Raina joined a select legion of players to register a hundred on Test debut at the SSC here on Thursday. It was a relatively sedate first hour that went without a wicket falling. Tendulkar’s defence was rock solid while Raina continued to show remarkable temperament. Suraj Randiv opened proceedings with a relatively new ball and continued to toil hard on a wicket that showed no signs of breaking up. The left-right combination made the task difficult for the off-spinner who had alternate his line.

The duo was inertia-struck briefly, refusing a few singles before getting to move on. Two well balanced cover drives by Tendulkar and the debutant took the cue to carve a inside out out cover drive for six. It was an extended first spell for Dhilara Fernando and Randiv but there was hardly any impression to be made.

Fernando was guilty of over using the short ball on a flat deck. Raina kept the short deliveries down by getting on top of the bounce. Even with two men behind the bat on the on side, Raina managed to survive. There was no respite for the bowlers. Ajantha Mendis struck to a good length but the batsmen were seeing the ball well enough to read it out of the hand.

Raina became a touch subdued after reaching 90 but with no mid-off, Dammika Prasad provided a full toss that Raina duly drove to bring his hundred. The slog sweep that was put in the closet came out shortly and Randiv suffered bowling a fuller length.

Coming around the wicket Randiv had Tendulkar in some trouble, hitting him thrice in front of the stumps, but the bounce and angle of delivery ruled out a leg before decision going in favour of the bowler. The first session was worth 92 as India neared the safety zone.

There was plenty of post prandial brilliance from the little master. Two well-timed back foot punches were a sight for the gods. Raina missed a huge opportunity to march on to a bigger score when a thick inside edge failed to carry his flick past Kumar Sangakkara at mid-wicket. Raina’s contribution in the 256-run stand (294m, 432b) was 120 (228b, 12x4, 2x6).

Prasad faltered with a woeful length and lacked the nous to draw the batsman forward. The bustling seamer managed to hit Tendulkar on the helmet but that was the most he could do on another run-filled day. Dhoni got into his groove with three boundaries. Tendulkar pulled a muscle while attempting a square cut, but recovered quickly. The hunger for runs never ceased. With the field spread out, runs trickled trough singles. The second session was productive. The same cannot be said of the over rate which continued to be abysmal. The hosts were short by eight overs in four hours.

It was left to Tillakaratne Dilshan to accomplish what the regular bowlers failed to do. Tendulkar, minutes after reaching 200, closed the face of the bat a touch early and the inside edge was snapped by Prasanna Jayawardene. The effort in no way made up for the lapse on Wednesday when the batsman had just managed 29.

Harbhajan Singh hit a full toss to mid-wicket before troubling the scorers and a collapse loomed. Mithun though, showed good application and prospered in Dhoni’s company. The pair added 68 but Dhoni offered a return catch to Dilshan in the same over the lead was gained. Mendis bowling with the new ball rattled Mithun’s citadel when the batsman decided to play the paddle sweep once too often. Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha saw the day off fully aware they are in for a long day in the field on the final day.

SCOREBOARD
Sri lanka (1st innings) 642/4 decl.

India (1st innings overnight 382/4)
M. Vijay lbw b Mendis 58, V. Sehwag st P. Jayawardene b Randiv 99, R. Dravid lbw b Randiv 3, Sachin Tendulkar c P. Jayawardene b Dilshan 203, V.V.S Laxman lbw b Mendis 29, Suresh Raina c Sangakkara b Mendis 120, M.S Dhoni c and b Dilshan 76, H. Singh c Sangakkara b Dilshan 0, A. Mithun b Mendis 41, I. Sharma n.o. 10, P. Ojha n.o. 0.
Extras (b-9, lb-5, w-4, nb-12) 30
Total (in 198 overs) 669/9
FoW: 1-165, 2-169, 3-173, 4-241, 5-497, 6-592, 7-592, 8-643, 9-668.

Bowling: Prasad 19-1-96-0, Fernando 31-1-116-0, Mathews 9-1-24-0, Randiv 64-14-212-2, Mendis 54-6-157-4, Dilshan 21-4-50-3.