VVS Laxman led a strong fightback with a determined half-century as India ended the opening day on 247 for 6, in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, at the Sardar Patel stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.
Laxman, who was unbeaten on 71, was involved in an unbroken 64-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Pathan that revived India after a disastrous second session, when they lost four wickets.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers after India were tottering at 125 for 5. He scored 49 from 62 balls, inclusive of seven boundaries, and was particularly severe on Muttiah Muralitharan.
Malinga claimed the wickets of openers Gautam Gambhir (19) and Virender Sehwag (20), while Muralitharan claimed the important wickets of Tendulkar, for 23, and Yuvraj Singh (0) to give Sri Lanka the upper hand.
For Sri Lanka, Muralitharan was the most successful bowler, claiming 3 for 76 in 21 overs, but even he looked a little out of sorts once Dhoni and Pathan started attacking him. Malinga troubled the Indian top order with his short delivery, taking 2 for 62 in 18 overs.
Only 78 overs were possible in the day after the start of was delayed by an hour because of heavy dew on the outfield.
Morning session: (51 runs, 1 wicket, 12 overs)
Stand-in captain Virender Sehwag elected to bat on a cool, windy day. It seemed a brave move, considering that the curator, Dhiraj Parsana, had predicted some help for the seamers in the first session on the opening day.
India opted for one change in their line-up, Mohammad Kaif replacing the indisposed Rahul Dravid.
Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando were ruled out because of viral fever and it remained to be seen whether Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando could extract any help from the pitch and scalp some early wickets.
Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag got off to a confident start, hitting boundaries for their first runs in the match.
Sehwag hit a classical straight drive off Maharoof in the second over, after being beaten a couple of times in the over.
Malinga struck the first blow for Sri Lanka, when he got the wicket of Gambhir. The left-hander tried to pull a short delivery, but top edged it, offering a simple catch to debutant Upul Tharanga for 19. (31-1, 8.3)
Malinga kept bowling short to Gambhir, enticing him to go for the pull short, off which he struck two boundaries, but this time it was curtains for him.
The 21-year-old Maharoof impressed in his first spell, conceding just 9 runs in 5 overs, pitching the ball up and beating the batsmen few times.
Muttiah Muralitharan was introduced in the 12th over and was welcomed to the crease by Sehwag with a sweetly-timed boundary through the cover region. Laxman hit the second boundary of the over to the fine leg fence off a delivery, which drifted on to his pads.
India reached 51 for 1 in 12 overs at lunch. Sehwag was unbeaten on 20 and Laxman looking confident on 8.
The pitch looks good for batting and the Indian batsmen should well make merry with an inexperienced Sri Lankan attack at their mercy.
Post-lunch session: (74 runs, 4 wickets, 32 overs)
India lost Sehwag off the second delivery after lunch for 20. The right-hander was caught at the crease after failing to move his feet to a well-pitched up delivery from Malinga. (52-2, 12.1)
Tendulkar walked out for his 125th Test, equalling Sunil Gavaskar to become the second most capped player for India after Kapil Dev, who played 131 Tests.
The onus now lay on Tendulkar and Laxman. They had to play a big knock and register a big partnership as the middle order is quite inexperienced, with Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to follow.
Both Maharoof and Malinga bowled well after lunch, occasionally missing the edges by getting the batsmen to play at wide deliveries. Malinga concentrated on bowling short and forced the batsmen to play the horizontal bat shots, while Maharoof pitched the ball up, thereby giving it maximum chance to swing.
Malinga bowled his first spell of 12 overs, giving away 49 runs and taking the wicket of both the openers. He gave way to leg-spinner Malinga Bandara in the 25th over as the score reached 77 for 2. Muralitharan came into the attack for the second time in the 26th over and immediately Tendulkar took him on, charging down the wicket and lofting him straight over mid-on for a boundary.
Both the spinners then restricted the run rate as the batsmen went into a defensive mode, with just 11 runs coming from the next 6 overs as the score reached 88 for 2 in 31 overs.
Then Muralitharan got the prized wicket of Tendulkar, having him caught at short fine leg by Jehan Mubarak for 23. He was dismissed as he tried to play on the leg side, but the ball bounced and the leading edge was easily held. (88-3, 31.3)
Two balls later, Murali scalped the wicket of Yuvraj. The ball pitched on middle stump, turned away sharply from the left-hander, taking the outside edge straight to Thilan Samaraweera at first slip. (88-4, 31.5)
The quick dismissals of Tendulkar and Yuvraj showed how much of a threat Muralitharan would hold in the Test. In the space of just one over, he had given Sri Lanka the edge. Now India's only hope of a decent first innings total lay on how the rest of the batsmen could cope up with Muralitharan's spin.
Mohammad Kaif, recalled to the Test team after a long time, failed to impress as he fell to Bandara for 4. The right-hander tried to pull a short delivery through the midwicket but his shot went in the air and the resultant catch was well-taken by Marvan Atapattu. (97-5, 37)
His wicket left the lower order exposed to the Sri Lankan spinners, riding high on a wave of confidence, after the quick fall of wickets.
In the space of just under five overs, India had collapsed from 88 for 2 in the 32nd over to 97 for 5 after 37 overs. The absence of Dravid was clearly being felt as the middle order caved in to the pressure created by the two spinners as Laxman played the mute spectator at the other end.
Despite the situation, Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not curb his natural instincts. The Indian plan was clear: attack Muralitharan at every given opportunity. This time Dhoni charged down the wicket and played an uppish drive through the cover region as the India reached 116 for 5 after 40 overs.
Sri Lanka decided to test Dhoni's ability against short-pitched delivery as Malinga, with a fast bouncer hit the Indian wicketkeeper on his helmet as he tried to evade the delivery. Dhoni, however, survived to remain unbeaten on 12 (from 17 balls) at the tea interval.
India reached a shaky 125 for 5 at the end of the second session, with Laxman holding steady on 36 from 105 balls.
Malinga rocked the Indians with a quick spell on either side of lunch, claiming 2 for 54 in 11 overs, while Muralitharan once again looked dangerous, taking 2 for 31. Bandara was the other wicket taker with 1 for 18 in his 9 overs.
The hosts now need to ensure that they escape the final session without any further damage, else Sri Lanka could well have the advantage.
Sri Lanka fielded an inexperienced bowling attack after Vaas and Fernando were ruled out because of viral fever, but the passion showed by the two young bowlers was commendable as they refused to let the Indian batsmen dictate terms or play with their usual freedom.
Laxman is quite an experienced campaigner and India may need him to play another of his very special innings to lead them to a respectable total, while relying on Dhoni's flamboyance to flay the Sri Lankan bowlers in the final session.
Post-tea session (122 runs, 33 overs, 1 wicket)
Dhoni played in typical attacking fashion, looking to despatch any loose delivery on offer as Sri Lanka had the field spread out to him.
While Laxman was quite content to play the singles and rotate the strike, Dhoni kept the crowd entertained.
The two batsmen brought up the 50-run partnership for the sixth wicket in the 51st over, scoring at healthy rate as 38 runs came in the first 10 overs after tea, but the important thing was that India had not lost a wicket.
Laxman reached his 24th half-century in Tests with a neat flick to fine leg off 135 balls, with the help of seven boundaries.
Dhoni, however, fell one short of a deserving half-century as he played back to Muralitharan and was trapped leg before wicket.
He played a dashing innings of 49 from 62 balls, with seven boundaries, adding 86 runs for the sixth wicket with Laxman to help India fightback in the final session. (183-6, 59)
India then survived two close chances when Laxman, on 51, was given not out when it looked he had edged on to his pads and was caught at silly point off Bandara in the 60th over. In the same over, Irfan Pathan (0) was lucky not to be run out after a huge misunderstanding with Laxman, with the Baroda player finding himself half-way down the track before he decided to return.
Pathan started positively, his first three shots being boundaries, as he took a leaf from Dhoni's books and went after the spinners right from the onset. India reached 200 for 6 in the 63rd over, a strong comeback after being reduced to 125 for 5 at the start of the session.
The floodlights were switched on later in the final session, in an attempt to make up for the delayed start.
Part-time spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan was introduced in the 72nd over and Pathan immediately took him to the cleaners, launching him high over mid-off for a boundary to bring up the 50-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Laxman in 76 balls. Pathan had done the bulk of the scoring in the partnership, with 33, including six boundaries, as the score reached 234 for 6 in 72 overs.
The two batsmen successfully negotiated a few overs under lights but were off as soon as the umpires offered light to them.
At close on day one, India reached a healthy 247 for 6 in 78 overs, with Laxman unbeaten on a solid knock of 71. He hit nine boundaries in his 194-ball knock and stayed at the wicket for more than five hours to help India's cause.
Pathan was unbeaten on 39 from 64 balls, with seven boundaries, and was involved in an unbroken 64-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Laxman.
The final score must have given some relief to regular captain Dravid, who is still in hospital after being admitted on the eve of the Test for gastroenteritis. According to Indian team manager M Baladitya he is still on liquids and it could be another couple of days before he is discharged.
BCCI president Sharad Pawar, who was here to felicitate Kumble and Tendulkar, visited the ailing Dravid after the ceremony.
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