Sri Lanka exhibited
the much needed character at Gros Islet, but all the efforts were overshadowed
by the ball tampering controversy.....
The third of second Test at Gros Islet was due to start at
9:30 am local time, half an hours early to make up the loss of time due to
rain. But the spectators and television viewers noticed the Sri Lankans did not
even take the field as the umpires made their out in the middle. The visitors
did come out at 10:50 am at the cost of five penalty runs, which was awarded to
West Indies.
Why the Lankans did not take the field in time remained a
matter of discussion among the fans and later on an official present at the
ground said, “the umpires informed them about the ball change just 10 minutes
before the start”. At first, reports suggested, there was no concrete video
evidence, but later on, a video footage suggested, Sri Lankan captain Dinesh
Chandimal was using saliva and a sweet to tamper with the ball and give it more
spin. Chandimal pleaded of not guilty, but his statement was unconvincing to
match referee Javgal Srinath.
Chandimal has been slapped with a ban for one Test and
things might get worse.
I found the incident very disappointing.
The cricketing world already witnessed the mintgate incident
downunder two years ago and a few months back, the sandpapergate totally jolted
the cricketing fraternity and it was Australia who were left stunned and the
side effects are still palpable. Such incidents always give a great opportunity
to learn and remain honest as much as possible. But if someone fails to
learn from them and repeat the mistakes, foolish would be the right word to
describe him.
How could Chandimal attempt such in this era of
digitilastion. Only a few eyes are not watching you, but millions of eyes
notice what you are doing in the field. The track was aiding the bowlers and in
fact, Sri Lankan bowlers were looking confident enough to bag wickets. Then,
why Chandimal thought of choosing stupid means, cannot be understood.
Chandimal's act totally overshadowed the fighting
spirit of Sri Lanka, which could have hit the headlines other than this ball
tampering controversy. But in this world, the negative news spread like fire
and are exaggerated by the media more.
Sri Lanka’s start of this Test match was not something
satisfactory. The spine-stiffening and bone-chilling pace of Shannon Gabriel
and Kemar Roach. The wickets kept on tumbling and a below-par performance was
on the cards, yet again. But the skipper Chandimal had other ideas – like a
Hercules, he faced the fury of Gabriel and Roach to notch-up a classic hundred
and gave Sri Lankan total the respectability, which was required to lift up the
shoulders.
The second day was hit by rain, while on the third,
controversial events spoiled the mood, but the visitors remained as spirited as
ever. Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha ensured, the West Indian tail does not
wag and kept the lead within their reach.
The Lankans’ start was shaky in their second innings. The
skiddy-giant named Gabriel set jitters in the Lankan batting lineup and at 48
for 4, the visitors were in the soup. Stepped up Kusal Mendis and Chandimal,
yet again, to resuscitate the tattered innings.
For a brief period, both of them applied caution over
aggression and occupied the crease to graft a partnership. Their fifth-wicket
stand of 117 made the picture bright, but again, two wickets fell quickly an at
199 for 6, with the lead of just 152 runs, the lower-order was needed to show
character to make a match out of it.
Stepped up Niroshan Dickwella and Roshen Silva and useful
contributions from Akila Danajaya, Sri Lanka gave West Indies 296 runs to win
on the final day. The Sri Lankan bowlers kept on picking up wickets and had
inclement weather not interfered, they would have scripted one of the most
memorable comebacks.
Still, their exhibition of character at Gros Islet deserve
the accolades. They were down and dusted at Port of Spain and were expected to
show the hunger and positive intent as a team. As because Chandika Hathurusingha
is such a coach, who works on the mental aspect of the players so that they
have the abilities to bounce back and defy all the odds to shine
brightly.
The Sri Lankans worked as a team and shone brightly amid
adversity and surely, a lot of hard work was involved behind this display, but
as their hard work started to unfold in Gros Islet, they went out of sync
with the news cycle – Chandimal’s ball tampering incident made the fans forget
about Sri Lanka’s brilliant temperament, but it should not be forgotten.
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