Dhoni, Sangakkara differ on Motera pitch

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 21, 2009

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Ahmedabad: The first test match between India and Sri Lanka here ended in a tame draw and the Motera wicket has come under severe criticism from the experts for not being an ideal advertisement for test cricket. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni agreed with that view saying that the pitch was a bowler-hostile track while his Sri Lankan counterpart didn’t have any problems with the pitch, describing it as a “true” wicket.

Close to 1600 runs were scored in the game which included seven centuries — a record for the sub-continent — while just 21 wickets fell in the match. Dhoni said that the pitch lacked bounce and didn’t deteriorate after the third day as was expected.

“We were expecting a batting pitch but thought it would deteriorate after the third day. But it did not. It also lacked bounce. At the end it did not help any bowler – pacers or spinners,” Dhoni said after the first Test ended in a draw.

Sangakkara, however, had a completely different opinion on the same issue saying that though the match ended in a draw, the pitch was the ultimate winner in the end. “Ultimately, the winner is the wicket. It stayed true for five days. The Indians showed a lot of spunk to save the match,” the visiting captain said.

Sangakkara’s predecessor and man of the match for his brilliant 275, Mahela Jayawardene was, however, disappointed with the wicket on which he notched up his first three-figure score in India.

“I thought it would deteriorate but it did very slowly. It lacked pace and bounce. Otherwise our spinners would have got a few of Indian wickets in their second innings and would have put pressure on them. That was the disappointment,” said Jayawardene who scored 275.

Dhoni also felt that though the wicket wasn’t assisting the bowlers much, his bowlers could have been a lot more disciplined with their line and lengths. “Overall, I am happy with my bowlers but they could have been a little more disciplined in line as we spilled some. But we were never worried about batting to save the match as most of us got the starts in the first innings,” said Dhoni.

“The series will be a close one and we have to show discipline in bowling,” he added.

Sangakkara also wasn’t too disappointed with the result of the game, though he did feel that Sri Lanka could have tightened the screw a bit more when India were in trouble early in their first innings. “We cannot be too disappointed though we let off India after the first day morning session. Credit to them (India) they batted well after that,” said the Lankan captain.

“We go to Kanpur (for the second Test) with lots of positives. The way Mahela (Jayawardene), Prasanna (Jayawardene) and (Tillakaratne) Dilshan batted it was a bit disappointment that we could not win here,” he said.

He was happy that the youngsters in the team had come out with flying colours.

“Rangana Herath was told on the morning of first day that he would play and he did well. Dammika Prasad also did well. So, all the youngsters did well they put up their hands and took up their responsibilities,” he said.

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