THE FIRST HOUR

The 3rd Test between India and Sri Lanka hangs in balance. On Day 5, all results are possible... India need 204 runs, Sri Lanka need 7 wickets (which will include the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni).

There is also a third possibility... a tie! Well, lets not get into that.

The best part about Day 5 of this Test is that every fan will believe in his side. The Indian fan knows that 204 is modest for the class of SRT and VVS! The Sri Lankan fan knows that on this turf, his team can make a mountain out of that 204!

This Test has been a good advertisement for Test cricket and as an Indian fan, I'll obviously like to see those 204 runs scored tomorrow. But as a cricket fan, I'd like to see a close finish to the Test. A 1- or 2-wicket win for India or a 10- or 15-run win for Sri Lanka (hope it's the former, not the latter)!

I think the key for India would be to see the ball through to 35 overs. Once the ball is that old, it does not get that bite from the pitch and any turn is slow, therefore easily negotiable. We saw that in India's first innings, Laxman and Raina shared a 30-over partnership after Sehwag fell in the 41st over. In the Sri Lankan second innings, first Samaraweera - Malinga shared a 11-over partnership and then Samaraweera - Mendis shared a 38-over partnership after the 32nd over when the 7th wicket fell.

If India has a one 30-over partnership, it will mean 100 runs in the bank and Sri Lanka will be back under pressure. Since this ball is already 18 overs old, the batsmen will need to tread carefully for about 1 hour in the morning before they can breathe a little easy (that is obviously if they have not seen too much damage in that first hour). After 30-35 overs, the spinners can be safely negotiated from the backfoot. Randiv will cease to be too much of a threat then... though Mendis might still be a little tricky. The natural pace of a Mendis delivery is more than that of an average spinner... and that might trouble the batsmen tomorrow. And yes, Lasith Malinga can trouble any batsman on any pitch.

So Indian batsmen cannot afford to completely relax after the first hour... but the job will definitely be a lot easier if the first hour is safe.

HOW TO TAKE A WICKET?

Every time that I try to post a comment on the Cricinfo Cricket commentary, a wicket falls. As a result, my comment never gets published as the situation changes entirely.

But still, now I know how to take wickets for India when the tail starts frustrating them.

UDRS: A HALF-COOKED MEAL

Sachin Tendulkar: c. P Jayawardene b. L Malinga 41 (72)

This is what happened in the very first over of the day when Sachin chased a wide one from Malinga and nicking it to the jubilant young keeper as the Lankans gathered to celebrate Malinga's 100th Test wicket... a special one as it was of the Indian maestro!

But something perplexed me in the replays that followed. The 'Snicko' did not detect a nick as the ball went past the bat. But everyone could detect the nick in Sachin's expression immediately after the shot and the confidence of the Lankan appeal. Usually when SRT feels that he has been given a harsh decision (it has happened many a time so we know that reaction well!), he just shakes his head before making the walk. Today there wasn't any shake of the head... there was just a grimace, showing the disappointment of having nicked a ball that did not deserve the wicket of the highest run-scorer in Test cricket!

So we know one thing for sure: SRT did nick that ball! Then the question to be asked is: WHY DID THAT NICK DID NOT REGISTER ON THE SNICKO? The stump microphones are turned up to their full volume reception when a bowler is delivering the ball. If SRT's nick was so obvious to the keeper, bowler and the umpire, then surely it must have created a sound. The fact that it went undetected forces me to conclude that Snicko is an imprecise technology.

Given that the Hawk Eye team admits that they have a certain small percentage of imperfection in their predictive techniques, we now have two pieces of technology that can be easily qualified as 'imperfect'. And guess what, ICC plans to form its Umpires' Decision Review System in the base of these two technologies in its showpiece event next year... the World Cup!

The news is out that the Hot Spot cameras are too expensive to purchase... what rubbish! This is Cricket World Cup... one that happens once in 4 years... and one that is happening in India after 15 year! If this cannot generate money, then I don't know what can! But in any case, moving on... with the Hot Spot technology unavailable atleast till the Quarter Finals stage of the event, the UDRS will be restricted to Super Slow-Motion Replay Cameras, Snickometers and Hawk Eye Technology. The first one usually proves nothing conclusively... and the other two have already demonstrated their imperfections!

In such a case, I would rather suggest the ICC to not use the UDRS at all till the Quarter Final stage of the event. A bad decision from the UDRS leaves a much worse taste than a bad decision coming from a human umpire. Umpires can later walk up to players and apologies... UDRS cannot do that! A half-cooked meal is bound to cause a nasty stomach ache!

TEST RUNS IN 2010

Here's a list of the highest run scorers in Test cricket in the year 2010. Check who's heading the list...