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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Amit Mishra plays Test after 4 years - Ashwin takes 6 at Galle

One will have to believe in fate to explain his comeback.  Today, Amit Mishra took 2 though it was Ravi Ashwin who did it all taking 6 – bundling the home team for 183. 

For Amit, his  last Test was in Aug 2011 at Kennington Oval, London Test no. 2004 when Indians were defeated by an innings and 8 runs. He had a good 144 run partnership with Sachin, whose missing a century was much talked about.  In that test Bell (235) and Pietersen (175) amassed runs to pile a total of 591/6 decl.  Mishra had forgettable figures of 38-3-170-0.  In the 1st Innings, Indians were bowled out for 300 – Rahul Dravid opening and carrying his bat through for 146.Following on, India lost Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman at 118 and Amit was sent as a night watchman to join Tendulkar.  After battling for long, and when it appeared a draw was the most likely result – Amit got out at 262 making 84; Sachin too followed at the same score having made 91 and India folded for 283…….. and Amit Mishra went into oblivion and not many thought he would play Test again ! – today too, in a team that had Ashwin and Harbhajan, not many would have fancied his chances – but Kohli went in with 5 bowlers, and three spinners in that.

At Galle on day 1 in Test no. 2176, Sri Lankans were all out for 183 and Indians are 128/2 …

Galle is a fortified Port city, situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km off from Colombo. It has a long history of trade – way back in 1505 Portuguese ship was driven there by a storm, Portuguese stormed the city. It was very prominent during the Dutch colonial period; badly affected by the Tsunami on 26th Dec 2004.  Galle is the fourth largest city in Sri Lanka after the capital Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna.  The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.

The cricket ground severely damaged by the tsunami, was rebuilt and test matches resumed here in Dec 2007/  Important natural geographical features in Galle include Rumassala in Unawatuna, a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of Ramayana.  With the Indian ocean visible on two sides of the ground and the famous clocktower of the 16th-century Dutch fort towering above, Galle's international stadium is one of the most scenic venues in the world.   

In between – Amit Mishra had missed 33 tests and the last time he took a wicket was exactly four years ago, on August 12, 2011 in Birmingham. The other prodigious Rohit Sharma has scored 42 runs in his last 10 Test and ODI innings in Sri Lanka. He averages 4.2 runs per innings in this period, with scores of 4, 0, 11, 5, 5, 0, 0, 4, 4 & 9.

Ages ago, to a question on whether he believes in fate, Cho Ramaswamy (Thuglak Editor) replied drawing elaborate reference to PV Narasimha Rao… Narasimha rao had been the CM and has been a Parliamentarian… in 1984 elections held after assassination of Indira Gandhi, Congress got 414 seats; 2nd was TDP; BJP got only 2 ……… one was from South India (yes) – Hanamkonda, where Chandupatla Janga Reddy defeated Rao by approx 55000 votes.   In 1991, he had almost retired when Rajiv was touted to return to power but lost life sadly in that blast at Sriperumpudur … Narasimha Rao was to become the Prime Minister becoming the first holder of this office from non-Hindi-speaking south India.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
12th Aug 2015

Photo credit : bcci.tv and stats cricinfo

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