31 July,2010 08:21 AM IST | | Agencies
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blasted the featherbed wicket that proved a bowlers' graveyard after the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw yesterday.
"This one was very unsporting, there was nothing in it for the bowlers," said Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose team posted 707 in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings score of 642-4.
India's score was just 19 runs short of their Test record of 726-9 declared against the same opposition at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai last year. Sri Lanka made 129-3 in their second knock before play was called off an hour early with skipper Kumar Sangakkara on 42 and Thilan Samaraweera on 10. The match was a poor advertisement for Test cricket in which 1,478 runs were scored for the loss of just 17 wickets on a flat pitch that offered no assistance to the bowlers.
There were five three-figure knocks over the five days, two of them double-centuries by Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar, besides a 99 from Virender Sehwag. "If there is nothing for fast bowlers in a wicket, it should at least help the spinners," said Dhoni. "This one was just for batsmen, while the bowlers got spanked all around the park. Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara admitted it was "hard work" for the bowlers. Sri Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss said such dead wickets were unlikely to ever produce positive results. "We need pitches which are good for batting and have something for the bowlers too," said Bayliss.
Sri Lanka now head for the final Test at the P Sara Oval from Tuesday.
