Indians take lead, but advantage with Lanka
There are many who would believe Indians had a good third day in the third test of the 3 match series having taken a 11 run lead but one were to look at it differently Indians actually had a bad day and a very bad day at that. India began the third day on a formidable 180 for with Sehwag and Sachin in supreme form but their quick dismissals meant that they added only 256 runs for the loss of 8 wickets and allowed Sri Lanka to come back into the match.
What is however heartening from India's point of view is that the tail enders for a change batted very well to deny Sri Lanka what could have been a crucial lead and at the same time gave India some sort of physiological advantage with slender lead. Another positive for India was Sehwag's twin strikes and had it not been for those twin strikes which included the wicket of the dangerous Tilekratne Dilshan who bats much in the same manner as Sehwag, Sri Lankans would have raced to 80 odd in the 16 overs they faced and would have been well in control of the match.
Another issue which keeps many interested on the fourth day is the strategy Dhoni going to apply to get the Sri Lankan batsman out. While Sehwag has got India back into the match the point is whether Dhoni take the risk of continuing with Sehwag who at best is only a break through bowler and the India skipper in all likelihood may go with the pacers thinking that the best chance of ripping through a batting line up is going with pacers rather than a part time spinner. However the move could easily backfire because Indian pacers have been generally ineffective and a big partnership orcouple of smaller ones would give a chance for Sri Lanka to claw back into the match. It would not be a bad idea for Dhoni to continue with Sehwag surroundedby close in fielders and Sehwag considering his heart for the big occasion could pull it out for India. One thing is for sure that media and fans may hound Dhoni if the move backfires but that is one risk he has to take if he still nurtures ambitions of a win in this test to tie the series.
If India manages to skittle out Sri Lanka today the batsmen should plan out the approach towards executing the chase and what could be a treacherous fifth day wicket. In the past Indians have messed up chases on treacherous wickets adopting a over cautious approach which cost them dearly in the end with players of the calibre of Sachin trying to last the day rather than looking out for runs. It is important for batsmen to retain the same mindset and go in their usual manner. While Sehwag as usual should go after the bowling, Sachin should play his usual percentage game. Dravid as usual should try to stick to the crease and leave the run scoring to those around him.
As of now if one were to look from a neutral point of view, Sri Lankans have the advantage because every run scored by them is going to make it that difficult for Indian batsman on a fifth day treacherous wicket.
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