Cricket @ Sri Lanka Tour After 3rd Day

LANKAN BALL IN GALLE India Loose Three Wickets In Last Session As Scale Tilts Towards SL After 3rd Day Galle:  Explosions, of any sort, anywhere near the Sri Lankan crecket team don't seem to be such a good idea. But Tuesday in Galle was different. The firecrackers started off when departing legend Muttiah Muralitharan came on to bat. continued when he came out to field, and by the time he was handed the ball the stocks seemed to be dwindling, much like the Indians had fizzled out with the ball after an explosive start.        Unlike the visitors, though, the firecracker went off again, resplendent in their detonative glory, when Muralii, the big-stage impressario, prised out Sachin Tendulkar in a remarkable coda to their storied rivalry. Needing 320 to avoid a follow-on, India had already lost dravid and Gambhir when Tendulkar inexplicably attempted to paddle sweep a straighter one, handking the world's most prolific bowler his 793rd Test wicket. And with it, in all likelihood, the last laugh, since Murali has dismissed him the most times now, eight in 19 matches, two more than the next best: Glenn Mc Grath with six from nine.       With Galle finally seeing an uninterrupted third day's play in the first Test until bad light struck beyond the scheduled closing time, the script unfloded like a dream for Murali and the Lankans. After Ishant Sharma had bowled a captivating spell in the morining, the conditions eased out and India, much to their chagrin, discovered again how toothless their attack was.       Their best bet, the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha, bowled a total of 58 overs for five maidens and 213 wicket less runs on a subcontinental pitch. The debutant Mithun picked up four wickets but adding insult to injury in the second session was a brazen daylight robbery, a 115-run eighth-wicket stand between Rangana Herath (80not out; 93 balls; 10x4, 1x6) and Lasith Malinga (64 off 75; 9x4, 2x6+) which knocked out an already deflated bowling side.        "Conditions had flattened out and though batting was not easy, it was easier than earlier, " said Herath, the 'earlier' referring to Ishant's impressive but all-too-brief pyrotechnics in the morning when he had the hosts gasping for breath in seaming conditions. The standout feature of Lanka's innings, though, was their almost Aussie run rate 4.19: it never flagged under four even when Ishant and, to a lesser extent Mithun, had the squeeze on.         Lanka finally declared on a mammoth 520 for 8, highlighting India's dubious distinctionof being the side tailenders are happiest batting against. Since January 2000, India have conceded the most century stands for the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th wickets combined: a total of 17. Next are south Africa with 15, and, surprisingly, Australia with 14. It's a problem that diesn't-look like disappearing soon.         Only Virender Sehwag (batting on 85; 98 balls; 14x4, 1x6) continuing an imperious record at Galle, imposed his class on the proceedings, seemingly unruffled by the early loss of Gambhir, who lost his balance attempting to flick a searing Malinga inswinger, and the suicidal second run of Rahul Dravid, who dropped a catch in the field too. But unless he can to on to score big here again after India resume at 140/3, and get support from the middle-order doing it, it might sadly register as a mere blip on the radar.