Manav Suthar’s 10 wickets in Galle take a back seat after Costly Colombo Outing
Manav Suthar, a young and talented lefty spinner, showed his talent on the Galle pitch in which spin bowling was the king of the hill. The track was turning so consistently that Suthar was able to bowl with passion and in the end hit the bat and maintained pressure on Sri Lanka’s batsmen. He took 10 wickets in the match and made it to a dominant victory for India.
But the second test match in Colombo presented a starkly different challenge for Suthar, and it would test him in all aspects of his bowling. Suthar was on Wednesday, when the pitch did not lend any assistance and he was forced to rethink his approach. His 2 for 81 in 18 overs may seem costly but it is a lesson that Test cricket is ever changing, so that the conditions can change in different places.
The surface at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo was slower and flatter than the one in Galle. The pitch remained unchanged over the course of several days of bowling and Sri Lanka’s batters were able to go all-out attacking rather than defending Suthar’s deliveries. Kamil Mishara and Sooriyabandara took the aggressive approach early on with sweeping shots and charged down the pitch to disrupt the spinner’s rhythm and gain the upper hand.
Suthar in particular was eager to take on Sooriyabandara. An early full delivery landed on the boundary, setting the tone for the innings. In fact Suthar's first three overs cost him 12 runs, and his fourth over saw another 10 runs added to his tally, showing just how difficult it was for the young spinner to transition into a conventional attacking spell under these circumstances.
Suthar had to change course of action for this uphill struggle. He had to find a balance between attacking the batters and keeping runs in check, and this is the main thing in Test cricket. He could sometimes bowl over the wicket to right-handers in the process and put in field placements a bit more defensive. He also varied his pace and trajectory with flatter, quicker deliveries when needed and slowed down when he knew the batters were likely to step out of their crease.
This ability to adapt was important, because it indicates one more facet of Suthar’s growth as a cricketer. In Galle he was able to take advantage of the conditions but in Colombo he had to find his own opportunities and prevent the opposition from scoring freely. Sri Lanka’s batters benefited from any loose deliveries, rotating the strike and taking advantage when Suthar lost his length to make it more difficult for him to hold on.
Despite the difficulties he had in Colombo, the raw talent that had made Suthar so successful in Galle showed in a few deliveries. One of them turned sharply, nearly beating Sooriyabandara’s outside edge to show his potential. But those moments of brilliance weren’t so frequent to dominate the innings. Suthar had to wait for the batters to do the wrong thing and that’s a skill that is often neglected in the fast-paced world of cricket.
As the innings went on, patience was rewarded. The dismissal of Dhananjaya de Silva came from a flatter delivery which caught the inside edge and ballooned off the thigh pad. It wasn’t a spectacular turn but it was an excellent example of how to change pace and trajectory to outsmart the batsman.
Suthar’s dismissal of Sooriyabandara also showed his skill in thinking strategically during a game. The batter had multiple times charged down the pitch and Suthar anticipated another advance, slowing it down and bowling it wider to him. Rishabh Pant got the stumping done with ease and demonstrated how the wicket was made on the basis of anticipation and variation instead of simply playing extravagant turn.
This experience in Colombo could be crucial for Suthar’s future Test career. Young spinners are prone to getting too dependent on a favorable pitch, especially when a pitch is turning. And international cricket often produces situations where the surface is not cooperating and so learning how to be effective in such situations is the way into the test bowler's hands.
The spin bowling coach for the Indian side Sairaj Bahutule stressed that that kind of experience is very important for developing a player. Suthar is still a young cricketer and he is brave enough to withstand the hard-charging ball from the opposition and fight back, he said.
Colombo might not have had the same statistical success as Galle, but it gave Suthar a unique opportunity for growth that the 10 wickets in Galle could not replicate. Colombo forced him to adjust his bowling style, defend against well-set batters, adjust his angles, change his pace, and accept that wickets might not come as easily as they did in Galle.
On the statistics, his final figures of 2 for 81 were the most expensive of his short Test career so far. But numbers alone do not tell the full story of the day for Suthar. The spell brought him into the scenario he will surely encounter at the highest level over time: long spells of bowling at a time with no assistance from the opposition trying to pressure him.
Suthar’s performance was perhaps the most encouraging one: He did not abandon his plans even when wickets did not come his way. He continued to attempt small wins in the game and moved his pace and trajectory and sought to read the batters. This patience he developed in Colombo will be one of his great gifts as he continues to play cricket.
Galle showed that Suthar has the tools to be a dangerous spinner when conditions favor him. Colombo showed that he is starting to see that he can use those tools well in a less favorable scenario. For a young bowler at the beginning of his Test career, this education may be more valuable than another impressive number.
While his 10 wickets in Galle will undoubtedly remain a highlight of his early career, it is the tough and expensive spell in Colombo that could teach Suthar how to be a more balanced Test spinner, to work under different conditions and against different opposition.
