NEW DELHI: Cricket may need daynight Tests, or even floodlights to start and stop play at smoggy venues like the Ferozeshah Kotla, but does it need nightwatchmen? Specifically, Sri Lankan nightwatchmen?
Suranga Lakmal and his teammates will have a long night to chew on the answer after they lost two batsmen in double-quick time late in the fourth day's play, just after umpire Nigel Llong had checked for the light. Batting conditions weren't optimum when
Dimuth Karunaratne got a nick off
Ravindra Jadeja (2/5) and left cursing his luck, since the teams had been about to walk off. Enter Lakmal, with job made that much tougher by fading light and the cries of optimism in the dressing room.
First ball, he fully covered the delivery and blocked. Second ball, he played with the spin, smothering the delivery but not managing to get to the other end. By this time there was some variable bounce already in play at the Kotla, but Jadeja didn't need that support: third ball to Lakmal simply sailed through in a wide arc, got the bottom edge of the bat, and dislodged stumps. Lakmal had botched it up big time.
Back in the dressing room, Karunaratne would have recalled the nightmare of the second Test against the Indians in Colombo in August earlier this year. That time, another nightwatchman, Malinda Pushpakumara, had come out to bat on Day Four only to lose his wicket to an inexplicable reverse sweep, getting into position even before Ashwin could complete his run-up and giving the bowler ample time to set up a dismissal.
Lakmal may not be trolled to the extent Pushpakumara was, since his nothing-shot wasn't that injudicious. But next man in
Angelo Mathews, who walked in with a resigned look on his face, would no doubt have been thinking about the need to ditch nightwatchmen from Lanka's scheme of things in the near future.
Mathews saw out two balls before stumps were called, leaving the Lankans at a precarious 31/3 in their second innings and still requiring another 379 runs, or, to be more practical, four sessions to bat through on the final day to save this game.
This was after the Indians ticked all the boxes, declaring at 246/5 in their second innings to set the Lankans a target of 410, with birthday boy
Shikhar Dhawan (67 off 91, 5x4, 1x6) leading the way.
Virat Kohli and
Rohit Sharma both accumulated half-centuries and Cheteshwar Pujara fell one run short of the mark as India scored at a brisk 4.7 per over to set up the target.
Chandimal, who scored a career-best 164 on the fourth morning (only the sixth time that rival captains have made 150-plus in the same Test) as India took a lead of 163, has to reprise his stately vigil if Lanka are to worry the likes of Mohammed Shami and
Ishant Sharma, who put in thrilling spells late in the day.
Sadeera Samarawickrama, hit on the head earlier in the match and having just recovered from the concussive effects, felt the full fury of Shami's searing pace and the fear factor of two back-to-back bouncers. This was even as Shami himself felt the deadly effects of Delhi's air smog, and started vomiting before leaving the field. It was obvious it isn't easy to bowl in these conditions.
Shikhar Dhawan, though, reassured that Shami would be fit to bowl on the final day, leaving India with only one headache as they look to wrap up this season's home leg with another commanding Test win on Tuesday:
Ajinkya Rahane, promoted to bat at No. 3 this time, flopped again with the bat and looked out of sorts, failing to even make use of a DRS reprieve. Can he leave his scratchy form behind when he boards the flight to Cape Town?