It was not to be third time lucky for the Indians as the hosts Sri Lanka beat them yet again this time in the finals to win the triseries. India have only themselves to blame as they squandered a good position and lost by 18 runs. Mind you, chasing 282 is not easy on any wicket and in any conditions but especially difficult on the Sri Lankan pitches and in the sapping heat even after the sun goes down.
While there will be endless debate about the wisdom of playing five bowlers none of whom is a reliable batsman the fact is that India were valiant in defeat. Sometimes a team need a bit of push from Almighty above and though there are some players in the team who have more than they deserve of that, it is not working for the team. There will be those who will be cynical and say that it’s yet another defeat in the finals but at least the Indian team reached the finals. It’s pretty much like telling a batsman who gets out in the 90s that he has missed a century but hey a 90 is better than getting out in single figures or less.
That said, India have to look back before they look ahead and try and analyze why they are finding the final hurdle the biggest and that too against the Lankans who they used to toy with not so long ago. The Lankans are now much more confident and are certainly not in awe of ‘the big brother’ any more and their cricket is now one of the most joyful spectacles in the game. Sanath Jayasuriya, who is one of the architects of this transformation from an uncertain team to a supremely confident one, reached a personal landmark of 10,000 runs in limited overs but ensured that he carried on to give his team a good foundation. The push from above was certainly evident when Dhoni missed a difficult chance early in Jayasuriya’s innings.
Mahela Jayawardena quite clearly loves the Indian attack. His highest Test score of 242 is against India in 1999 and thereafter the elegant right-hander has been a thorn in the flesh of the Indian bowlers. Along with the recalled Russel Arnold he put up a partnership that allowed the tail especially Chamunda Vaas to wag vigorously. Sri Lanka’s last 10 overs swung the game away from India as 72 runs were picked mainly through boundaries.
Ashish Nehra was the only wicket-taking bowler with 6 wickets and the others were run-outs. Nehra has been bowling with a point or two to prove after being sidelined with the advent of Irfan Pathan. With team favorite Zaheer Khan once again disappointing with a wayward opening spell, Nehra got the ball earlier than usual and he used it superbly. His wrist at delivery time is back to being straight and high as it was when he burst onto the scene a few years back and he mixed the slower one cleverly to get his wickets.
India picked two spinners but Kumble who does not particularly like bowling to left-handers was attacked by Jayasuriya and later by Arnold. Sri Lankan total was the highest of the tournament and defeated India’s plan of playing with five frontline bowlers.
India could not have asked for a better start than the one Sehwag provided hitting 26 runs in one over from the hapless Lokuhettige but the canny Vaas cramped him for room and forced an inside edge onto the stumps. Still with Dravid and Yuvraj finding the gaps and picking runs at a good pace India were definitely having the steering wheel in their hands. The brakes however were applied by Muralitharan and after Yuvraj’s dismissal the Sri Lankan fielding perked up and wickets started to fall at regular intervals. The final margin of defeat was 18 runs and India were left lamenting the last 10 overs that they bowled which effectively put Sri Lanka’s total out of reach.
Sri Lanka with two world class bowlers and one hard working leg-spinner and others raw and inexperienced were able to stave off the famed Indian batting. India, on the other hand, were bowling to a much lesser rated batting lineup but have more inflated bowling reputation. A defeat should not mean wholesale changes, but a realistic look will show that there are some who are there on past reputation and nothing else.
