There was edginess in the air but Mendis didn't hold his nerve

India v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Kanpur, 1st dayLunch India 131 for 0 (Sehwag 70, Gambhir 59)v Sri LankaVirender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir started sedately before shifting gears to launch India to a strong position by lunch on the opening day of the second Test in Kanpur. Sri Lanka managed to keep the scoring-rate down with the new ball but things went pear shaped for them after the spinners were introduced, with Sehwag and Gambhir taking 73 runs off nine overs.It appeared as though Shewag was waging a battle against himself initially. He chased his third ball - a wide delivery - and edged it but was dropped as Prasanna Jayawardene dived across and distracted Mahela Jayawardene who spilled the catch at first slip. Sehwag then tried to go hard at Angelo Mathews a couple of times and was beaten. He then started to play defensively with the full face of the bat and as close to the body as possible. It has to be said, though, that the seamers did their best to tempt him into indiscretion. Welegedera occasionally got the ball to nip back in and even had a plausible shout for lbw turned down, but couldn't break through.Gambhir was the more assured of the openers against the new ball.

He was dismissed playing away from the body against Welegedera in the last Test and took care to play close to his body today. He scored quite a few runs in the third-man region but the slow pitch was always going to throw up that kind of a wagon wheel.The presence of three spinners and just one frontline seamer was always going to pose problems for Sri Lanka. The nervous spin duo of Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis wilted under the assault from the openers. It was a fascinating phase as both batsmen decided to go after the spinners and the bowlers couldn't cope. Gambhir lashed out at Herath in his first over, hitting him for three boundaries: He whipped through covers, cut past point and stepped out to loft to the straight boundary.Gambhir took Herath out of the attack with his aggression and Sehwag nearly did the same to Mendis He attacked Mendis but mistimed the first few balls. There was edginess in the air but Mendis didn't hold his nerve. He floated a full toss, offered a long-hop and slid one down the leg side and Sehwag disposed each one to the boundary.

Doesnt it seem like just yesterday that the Hawkeyes were blocking back-to-back field goals at the end of the game against in-state rival Northern Iowa So much has transpired this season since those two fateful plays. Of course, Thanksgiving is upon us this week, and this holiday happens to coincide with the end of the regular season. 10: Ricky Stanzis Injury Wasnt More SevereI hate to say it, but it might have been the play of the year, as it turned out for Iowa. Leading Northwestern 10-0, off a play fake, Stanzi rolled to his right out of his own end zone. But Northwestern defensive lineman Corey Wootton wasnt fooled, and he met Stanzi head on, causing a fumble that Northwestern pounced on for the touchdown. However, the far more critical issue was that the full weight of Woottons 280-pound frame landed on top of Stanzi, bending his leg backward awkwardly. Stanzi lay on the turf motionless for several minutes before getting to his feet and walking gingerly off the field.We all know the rest of the story.