Sri Lanka proved that they are virtually unbeatable at home by winning the Tri Series quite comfortably. They did lose to a new look West Indies side in their last round robin game but it actually served as a wake up call to the team for the finals against India and they did put up an improved performance in the finals. The Sri Lankans have a very good mix of youth and experience but more importantly they look to play the man-in-form rather than a player with a past record and while experience is important at the Test level, at the one-day level a team needs energy more than anything else and that comes through players who are hungry to establish themselves.
Russel Arnold is a player who has been in and out of the Lanka team and he was taken ahead of some others from the Test squad simply because he was in good form and he rose to the challenge in the finals by firstly ensuring that the momentum wasn’t lost after Jayasuriya’s dismissal and then kept a good scoring rate going with Jayawardena who found his touch at the right time. Every Sri Lankan player had a specific role and they played it well, so the team benefitted. Though they may not have always got off to a great start, at least one opener stood there to see off the danger of the new ball and also kept a good rate going. So with wickets in hand it was possible for the batsmen down the order to hit in the slog overs. Their bowlers led by Vaas, who came back after the first couple of games showed the virtue of a good line and also lots of patience, for even in the frenetic format there is a place for a bit of patience. Theirs was well-deserved triumph and will put them in good heart when they come later in the year to tour India for Tests as well as the One Dayers.
West Indies came to the Lankan isle with turmoil raging in their cricket and apart from the skipper Chanderpaul, there was no experience there, though they had players who had earlier played for the West Indies. They improved as the tournament went on and their win over Lanka was one that will send the right signals in the Caribbean that there’s talent there and it needs to be promoted. Ramdin and Deonarine looked good, as did Omari Banks and the experience of playing in these conditions will stand them in good stead for the future.
What about India? Well, they took a couple of newcomers but which is what they do always but the newcomers must be given the chance to show their potential and not necessarily perform. These games show if the guys have the temperament, for in the end that is what counts in International cricket. Suresh Raina was obviously the blue-eyed boy on this tour and was given the opportunity to bat at No. 3 and though he didn’t quite grab it, he showed that with more experience he could be useful for India. There was talk of taking JP Yadav but once Ganguly joined the squad he was probably left out, as the rules say that only 15 can be in a team squad though it may not have been announced to the media. Though the BCCI paid for the extra man, its good that they did not use a squad of 16 for if countries who can afford it were allowed to pay for the extra player or two, then India can always carry a squad of 24 for the BCCI is a rich body.
Dravid showed that the captaincy did not affect his batting for that’s a major worry, losing a top player like him to captaincy worries. There’s talk of having two captains for the Zimbabwe Series and we will know soon enough if that is the case. From the batsmen it was Dravid and Yuvraj who came good and Kaif chipped in but not as much as was expected of a man with his experience in One Day games. It was the batting that was the let down for Sehwag and the others hardly contributed. In the bowling, apart from Nehra and to a certain extent Kumble there was nothing to shout about and yet India will not make changes and thus send the wrong signals, for while failure is not tolerated in some, there are others who fail at crucial times again and again but still hold on to their places.
Finally, the Tri series was in a way a contest between Greg Chappell and Tom Moody. The latter was rejected by the BCCI and would have been itching to prove a point or two and he did that in style. These are early days but India started the last season in a similar losing manner in Lanka and this season hopefully will be a lot different than the last one but only if the favorites are told to perform or shown the exit door.
