A Lot Of Conclusions On Kotla

Well after the fifth and final one day match between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned owing to bad weather light pitch, not only have the cricket fans reacted but also the cricket board committee regarding the future of the stadium. The conclusion has that far effect that the ICC is considering about revising the plan whether to host the world cup matches in 2011 or not. I bet the ICC would not have even come to such a conclusion regarding canceling the matches that were to be held in Pakistan in such a hurry. It was only after the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team that the ICC finalized its decision on hosting the world cup matches in Pakistan.

Earlier to that, teams namely Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa backed out from traveling to Pakistan owing security reasons that was quite obvious and natural. Even that couldn't shake the ICC from canceling games to be held in Pakistan until the March 1^st incident happened at Lahore. Neither did the ICC cancel matches that were scheduled in Sri Lanka when there were fears of LTTE attacks. But, it has been less than a week since the Kotla one dayer was cancelled and ICC starts doubting the matches that are scheduled in Delhi though the ICC has not yet come to a decision regarding the scheduling.

On the other hand, the BCCI was found to take a quick decision on the chairman of the grounds and pitches committee- Daljith Singh, who also accepted not to have gone in for trials whatsoever. All things coming to light only after the damage has already been done. Moreover, we hear that the ICC has slammed the Kotla pitch in November during inspection related to the world cup 2011. Finally, when it was termed all over last Sunday when the referees came out saying that the pitch lacked bounce and was not suitable for international cricket, everything from the past is highlighted.

One has to really wonder as to how come the match lasted for 23.3 overs, meaning almost half the Sri Lankan innings was done with before the play was called off. I remember the Antigua test between England and West Indies earlier this year that was called off owing to a similar pitch related issue that lasted just 10 balls before sand started erupting from the bowling crease. One had to wait till Tilekeratne Dilshan encountered a blow on his fingers to stop the play and call the pitch dangerous. With such slowness evident, the pace lies where it shouldn't, when decisions started wagging with regards to a tournament that would be held almost after a year and a half from now.

Is This The New Era of Cricket?

Well yesterday's match between India and Sri Lanka, which was forced to be terminated after playing just 23.3 overs with Sri Lanka on 83/5 was the second of its kind in 2009 alone. The first one beaing the one between the West Indies and England early this year, somewhere in February 2009 at Antigua when the second test was forced to be called off after the outfield was termed a risk for bowlers. The match was called after just 10 deliveries were bowled and the England scoreboard reading 7-0 after 1.4 overs. However, this match was compensated by adding another test by making the 4 match series a 5 match series.

And the final one dayer between India and Sri Lanka has not been compensated. Is this because the result of the series was well in front of us after India won the fourth one day match at Kolkata? Whatever, it is not the question of compensation be it to the fans who had come to watch the match by going through all sorts of struggle to get tickets or the series which had to be reduced to a 4 match series that was previously a 5 match one. But, the question in front of us is what next? What if such negligence in preparing pitches continue?

This can just be called an initial start. There was hardly any such thing observed in the past be it anywhere in the world. There have been matches abandoned by rain, bad light, bad weather and at last bad crowd. But, these days bad pitches are also found playing a spoilsport. One just cannot imagine to what extent can this go upto. There was a similar hint in the fourth one day match held at the Eden Gardens-Kolkata when the lights went off with the last three balls of Sri Lankan innings still to go. Luckily, no such unexpected things took place.

Had the fourth one day match at Kolkata also been cancelled owing to bad light, it would have been wonderful. For, it could have been a 3 match series with India still winning 2-1. That can be the perfect result for a bilateral series involving three matches. It is still not known as to who is to be blamed for such a debacle of the pitch! Should the curators be indeed held responsible for this act or was it just a mistake on their part or was this unexpected by them as well is still not known. But, one thing is for sure. This is one way for the curators of the pitch to make news. Or else, who would be interested in knowing who prepared the pitch?

Who Can Stop Sri Lanka from losing?

The fact that a team that could contain top rated batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and VirenderSehwag could not continue the same when it comes to a 28 year old Gautam Gambhir and ViratKohli who a couple of years ago was seen lifting the under-19 world cup can make people laugh and nothing else. A couple of days ago, I happened to read in cricinfo regarding the chances that Sri Lanka can draw out of the injuries haunting Indian players-Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in particular. And the result of all is that Sri Lanka have had their worst defeat so far in this tournament.

It is just disgusting to see someone like Ravindra Jadeja & Virat Kohli tearing apart the SriLankan bowling that included the likes of Lasith Malinga and co in the initial stages of their cricketing career. Added to that is Dinesh Karthik whose presence is felt only in the absence of the regular wicket keeper in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Still, even he is able to make a mark against Sri Lanka. The lone six in the Indian innings came from the bats off Virat Kohli though it was Gautam Gambhir's 150 that sealed Sri Lanka's chances of being alive in the series.

Added to this was the 16 wides the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled as compared to 10 by the Indians. I just couldn't resist closing my eyes when the replays of Sri Lankan batsmen TissaraPerera hitting the ball straight in the air and nowhere when it came to the distance were shown repeatedly. That was the time when Perera was in full form and a responsible decision would have seen Sri Lanka piling up a more 20 runs. Neither did Sri Lanka lose wickets at regular intervals nor did they end their innings with a partly total like they have been doing in their previous matches.

It is not an unknown fact that in the last 5 years or so, a total of 300+ is not considered safe for any team. But, until yesterday, this was opposed atleast by the Eden Gardens where stats suggest that the highest run chase so far has been 293 by Pakistan once again against India in 2004. For the second time and fortunately in this year and against the very same Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir has scored exactly 150, the only difference being that this time he was unbeaten. The previous time Gambhir was found doing this was in February 2009 at Colombo that saw India taking the lead to 4-0 in the 5 match series. Next time, India can play their under-17 team to both beat Sri Lanka as well as get some match practice.

Dhoni Could Have Done A Lot Many Things

This has of late been the mantra of the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni whenever team India's performance is far below par. Often Dhoni is seen making statements that includes a lot of ifs and buts that can make and break many things in life. This I decided to make a point after I just now heard Dhoni's statement that "We could have bowled tighter" on cricinfo. The first time I heard Dhoni using such worthless words was after India's miserable loss at the hands of Sri Lanka in the finals of the Asia cup 2008 held at Pakistan. A little bit of planning always helps and is Dhoni an exception?

His words never were different after his team's losses in the second world T20 held at England where Dhoni's men had wins only against minnows Bangladesh and Ireland that were followed by a series of losses against England, West Indies and South Africa. There, Dhoni was in for much praise for accepting his mistake whose result was a complete whitewash for his team. This was followed by Dhoni repeating the same statement (may be with a different set of words) in the ICC Champions Trophy where his team could draw only a consolation win from the game against the West Indies.

And perhaps one has to say thanks for not saying that "had we batted against Australia, we would have won". Of course, there is no rule that a team that had not won until then should not win against a team that ended the tournament without losing a single match. Words of Dhoni were no different when his team lost the one day series against Australia 4-2 of late. Had the players put in a little bit of hard work, India would have surely had the series well within their hands. No doubt that India came close to winning matches against against Australia on two occassions. But, isn't it that margin that makes a winner and a loser of the game?

We have in the past seen many captains slamming their respective cricket boards, captains and coaches, batsmen, bowlers and fieldsmen in addition to the weather, the pitch and of course the umpires. One has to really appreciate anyone who accepts his mistake whenever something goes wrong. But, it its nothing but a joke for anyone to repeat the same words again and again when there is hardly any improvement in his team's performance. A sorry this time should be a better performance in the next and not just another sorry. It is not an unknown fact that better things give rise to better performance and Dhoni need not keep on reminding it again and again I suppose.

Sri Lanka Did The Expected

Well after losing the one day series to the visitors, Sri Lanka should have made up its mind to get up from the land of dreams and bring them into reality whatsoever. But, it looked that the SriLankans never ever wanted that to happen. For, forget about pocketing the T20 game they never did anything seriously in the match to trouble India. The times where India were found reeling was due to the fact that they made a mess of themselves and not because of some beautiful bowling from the Sri Lankan bowlers. So, it would not be wrong if one could say that even this match was one sided.

India winning against all odds has become a habit the day since the Aussie domination has started declining. And the only competent for India being South Africa, a series against the same is no where in the near future. Anyway, thats a different issue altogether. And, coming to the match, a close look at the Sri Lankan scorecard would suggest us that they did play a decent batting. But, is this enough in a T20 game? Just think yourself. India used exactly 5 bowlers who bowled their allotted 4 overs each. Meaning that the Indian captain never required the presense of a part time bowler.

Not exactly. The Sri Lankan batsmen never wanted or never forced Mahendra Singh Dhoni to go in for either Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh to tackle the Sri Lankan batsmen. And instead went in for Ravindra Jadeja who was playing his maiden T20 match. This was the fate of the Sri Lankan team. The Indian bowlers never sufferred at the hands of the Sri Lankan batsmen whatsoever. And neither did the Indian batsmen against the Sri Lankan bowlers. They had plans for every bowler who would make it to the Indian batsmen. If not, what made Mahela Jayawardane go in for seven bowlers?

The only players who never had a ball were the captain himself who seldom bowls and the wicket keeper, whom if you ask him to bowl would show you replays when the ball was given to his hand. But, please don't laugh when that happens. And despite all these, Mahela Jayawardane could not stop the Indian batsmen nor could he stop himself from going first to the presentation party to have a word with Arun Lal. And this I guess was probably the one which prompted him to announce his retirement from captaincy. Not a bad move at all. There is Kumara Sangakkara ready in all aspects. I really pity the Sri Lankan team.

Consolation To Sri Lanka

Finally, the most unexpected happens for team India as well as for Sri Lanka. India, who were thought to successfully beat the Sri Lankans 5-0 at the end were found to lose the final game at Colombo. And Sri Lanka on the otherhand who thought would lose all five games ended up winning the fifth and final one dayer. And, much to one's surprise Sri Lanka not only won the fifth and the final one day international match at Colombo but also put up a decent total on the board for the Indians to chase. Had this been the first game of the series or even a game wherein Sri Lanka was well alive in the series, things would have been probably different.

The inconsequential aspect turned things around for the Sri Lankans I suppose. Of course Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men would have surely had things to whitewash the Sri Lankans in their mind before going into the last inconsequential game at Colombo. But, if their body language of the Indian players on the field is taken into consideration, that never ever seemed so. I think that this was the one which set the tone for Sri Lanka to avoid being whitewashed at the hands of the Indians. Else, things would have been different I suppose. So, the match could rather be seen as a gift from M S Dhoni to Jayawardane.

It hardly makes any sense to view the match to be won by Sri Lanka. A perfect view would be that India lost the match to Sri Lanka. For, Sri Lankan bowlers who were equipped with Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Maharoof could not even contain a debutant Ravindra Jadeja who went on to score his unbeaten maiden half century that was aided with the help of 5 hits to the fence. With this being the case, it would be foolish for one to think that Sri Lankans held an upper hand in this particular match. And how can one ever think such a team to return home with a victory?

Just take a look at the bowlers that the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni used against the Sri Lankans. People like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohith Sharma who were never found to bowl in international cricket were given the ball. And the Indian captain used as many as 8 bowlers, with the captain himself and Gautam Gambhir being exceptions. Now, it is left for you people to decide as to how come the Sri Lankans could manage such a decent target when they were hardly in the game when things really mattered? With such a depleted bowling attack by team India, the Sri Lankand team total should have crossed 400. And 320 is never close to the expected total. I wish the Sri Lankans just cool their heels rather than relishing their victory in the match.

Sr Lankan Ship Sinks Further

Well one gone then two followed by three and now, it has been four. So, cricket is found to be so boring with the Sri Lankans in the recent past that forget about winning or a decent encounter, even a positive approach to the game is a thing of the past. After looking at the current one day series against, it is still not been able for me to figure out as to how the Sri Lankans could manage a series win against Pakistan off late. Forget about the series against India. Even against some lower based teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh were more than enough to pose problems for the Sri Lankans.

More cricket for Sri Lanka at the moment is found to be more worries and nothing else. A team in India scores a massive score of 332 despite winning the series 3-0 and Sri Lanka are least bothered to even chase the target down. All they were found doing was just trying to draw a test match and nothing else. It all lied in the bowling departmant of Sri Lanka where each and every bowler gets belted. All that the match could produce was Muralitharan's 503rd wicket. Thank god that at last Muralitharan found something for him atleast. Finally you've done it Murali!!!

Coming to the match, there was only one bowler in Sanath Jayasuriya who could end up with runs-per-over of 5.6 (less than 6 runs per over). And Sanath Jayasuriya being the one of the bowler to have bowled less than 10 overs raises some doubts about Mahela Jayawardane's captaincy as well as player handling skills. And in the bowling department of the Indians, even part time bowlers like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh can be of some contribution. And new comers like Pragyan Ojha and Yousuf Pathan too pose a threat to the Sri Lankan batsmen I believe. So, what can be said of a team like this?

I wish the Sri Lankans had come to this match to face bowlers like Suresh Raina and Rohith Sharma who are rarely given the ball. Or may be even they could end up successful against the Sri Lankan batsmen who knows? All that was required for Sri Lankans to be found kicking themselves were just three Indian batsmen namely Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina towards the end of the Indian innings. The aforementioned players added 294 runs and the rest added just 14 runs, with extras having been 25. So, this means that the Sri Lankans were never mentally prepared to return to international cricket by any means. India might have won the series against Sri Lanka but, it has failed in selecting a decent opposition against which a thrill could have been expected.

Sri Lanka Gives Up The Chase

A loss at the hands of team India in the first one day international at Dambulla makes Sri Lanka more determined to face the challenge in the second one day international, which they end up losing despite a decent team plan in chasing a comparitively low of 257 when they fall just short by 15 runs. So,this time in the third one day international, all eyes should have been on Sri Lanka who were expected after the second one day match to make things difficult for India. And Oh my god!what a surprise? What happened was exactly opposite of their expectation.

Sri Lanka seemed to have all lost even before the match started I guess. For, if not, it would not have been possible for the Indians especially Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag to blast the Sri Lankan bowlers all over the stadium. Lack of planning and prior to this , lack of interest on the Sri Lankan part was India's gain I can say. Loss in the first two one day internationals made Sri Lankans reluctant to go in for the third. A defeat was thought to be on the cards even before the Sri Lankan players stepped into the field.

Just two of the Indian batsmen were more than enough for th Sri Lankan bowlers equipped with Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis (who were thought to be Sri Lanka's main weapons before the series began) to destroy the opposition. And coming to the second part of the match, the Sri Lankan batting absolutely showed no signs of chasing the mammoth total as expected. All that the match could offer was to see some great batting display from the blades of Yuvraj SIngh and Virender Sehwag and Yousuf Pathan towards the fag end of the Indian innings. A little bit of effort from the Sri Lankan batsmen could have made the day for cricket fans.

Now that Sri Lanka have lost the third one day international against India and with it the series as well, it would not be right to expect Sri Lanka to come back and win the next two one day matches for, Sri Lanka never approached the game with a positive mind when things really mattered, a guess would reveal about their approach to the remainder of the series. Probably, Sri Lanka might offer India a 5-0 whitewash. None of the Sri Lankan players are really found equipped with the challenge of destroying the opposition, since rhe day they have been playing against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh late last year. And Muralitharan is yet to get his 500th wicket. When can we expect that?

A Mess Finds Sri Lanka Fall Just Short

After the thrashing that the Sri Lankan cricket team got in the first one day international at Dambulla, the second one day international match between the same saw Sri Lanka getting into the contest to draw something from their opposition. But, at the end of the day, all that the Sri Lankans could end up doing was to just curse themselves for coming so close to winning the game and yet again ending up as losers. This is not professional at their peak. For, the good work went unnoticed and deserving or undeserving Sri Lankans had no other choice but to accept defeat.

Though the second innings started rather shaky, the Sri Lankans continued to battle it out with a century stand between captain Mahela Jayawardane and Kandamby for the fourth wicket. And the equation was always in abalance between both India and Sri Lanka for most part of the game and Sri Lanka could have grabbed away the match at any time possible. But, that never happened. This is called as lack of preparedness on the part of the Sri Lankans. After the fall of Kapugedra, there was no one to lead the tempo going on despite Kandamby at the other end.

All the batsmen who followed Kapugedra ended their innings in a single digit. None of them could support Kandamby who not only lost out on scoring a century, but also was disappointed for ending on the losing side. There were three run outs in the Sri Lankan innings namely that of Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Kulashekara, whose contribution with the bat would have seen Sri Lanka through that match. This also meant that Kandamby could not get his hundred for no fault of his. Such hasty decisions at most times could be foolish as it has been in the past. One has to watch out for videos of Australia's Michael Beaven and Steve Waugh who can hold their breath despite wickets falling at the other end.

It is still in the memories of many cricket fans, the way Steve Waugh in the super sixes of the 1999 world cup at England, when his team was reeling at 135/5 chasing a target of 272 against South Africa who were undefeated until then, finally won the match by 5 wickets, which set the tone for the Aussies to win the world cup. And the way Michael Beaven batted despite pressure in the semis of the 1996 as well as 1999 world cup could be of some inspiration. And more recently, New Zealand defeated Australia in the penultimate ball of the innings with just two wickets remaining. Perhaps, had this been the approach of the Sri Lankans, the result would have been different.

Where Have The Remaining Ten Gone?

Well at last, after much of the fuss, the first one day international match between India and SriLanka takes place at Dambulla. But, this as per my view or opinion, is not that great start for the series. For, the series expected a lot of expectations regarding some blistering fireworks from the blades of Sanath Jayasuriya. of course, Sanath Jayasuriya did fire with his bat despite being aged close to 40. But, I think that it is now necessary that one has to remind Sri Lanka that there are as many as eleven players in the team rather than only one man who id supposed to show his greatness with the bat.

From the Indian point of view, I can just relax for, it is my country who has made its day and as expected, India did win the match. But, if one is a real follower of the game of cricket, he would be surely interested in playing or watching someone play good and exciting cricket on the field rather than just wait or pray that his team wins no matter what. And this is what the game of cricket is all about. How can one expect someone to compromise with some thrilling stuff in return for a boring encounter like it happened at the Dambulla in the first one day international? Only three out of seven batsmen out there came out with some decent performances on the field.

could be considered to be a bowler rather than as a batsman. So, in the sense, only Out of the three batsmen whio showcast their skills with the bat, one of them- Farveez MaharoofSanathJayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara were really worth the praise and regarding other batsmen it was just like "fill in the blanks". If such is the performance of the Sri Lankan batsmen on their home ground in Sri Lanka, what else can be expected from them and what is the mistake of the Indians who can well walk away with the victory in their hand from the very first one day international?

If this is the kind of opposition that some team in India, who are riding very high on their confidence after whitewashing England 5-0 in November, it would not be a big task for them to take over the Sri Lankans who are running very very low after their recent loss at the hands of Bangladesh and their dismal performances against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe where Sri Lanka had a last gasp for victory. Sri Lanka never ever tried to correct their mistake and in turn continued to do the same and this is what they have landed with. A rather humiliating defeat against a team which lost miserably in the finals of the Asia cup 2008. So, better luck next time Sri Lankans.

A Step Ahead..India

Hmm..with all critics showering the team Indian in spite of a win in the second one day international at Dambulla,it looked as though the impact of this criticism on team India had such an impact that they were desperate to prove a lot of things and this is what they did! If not for the likes of Mahela Jayawardane,the Sri Lankan team had nothing to boast about when their batting was taken into consideration.And what an opening spell ot was by the duo of Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar who rattled the Sri Lankan top order by taking 5 wickets between them.Sri Lanka were reeling at 94/7 after the 27th over and much did one realize that they would cross the 200 mark,which they eventually did.Thanks to some patient batting by Mahela Jayawardane..a captain's knock indeed.

And hats off to all those people who called the pitch at Colombo a batsman's heaven when both the teams out there lost all their ten wickets.And the team that batted first could not even cross the 250 run mark despite the slog over advantage in the late 40 overs.And,the team that batted second..Forget about a batting friendly wicket.The ball was found moving like a cobra towards the end of the second innings itself and,when the match progressed to the second innings the situation was even more worse that the Sri Lankan batsmen had no other choice but to lose wickets.

The going was smooth during the initial phase of the first innings which the Indian batsmen Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made full use of,scoring half centuries each to post a decent total.It was really sad to see Ajantha Mendis miss out on a hattrick after claiming two wickets on successive balls during the fag end of the Indian innings.This really a magic of the toss of the match which Dhoni luckily and effortlessly won and with it the match.Sad that Chaminda Vaas could not grab his wicket number 400 even after an economical spell of 32 runs in 10 overs.

It was amazing that even the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan,upon whom the Sri Lankan team had complete dependence and expectation could not serve even half of what was expected from him.So was the case with Sanath Jayasuriya.Even juniors like Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli could not be contained by these experienced bowlers on their own track.Tuff whether to congratulate these youngsters for standing up when the opportunity arose or to condemn the experienced bowlers who could not turn their magic on even these kids.

Perfect Time To Think Over

Well..it was as though like the saying that goes "All is well that ends well" after the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on Wednesday.But,I feel it is the right time for Dhoni's men to think,for even a modest total in 142 was found to bother the Indian batsmen who lost 7 wickets at crucial times of the match, thus swinging the pendulum each and every moment they went out to bat and the Sri Lankans came in to bowl. This clearly shows that it was Sri Lanka who took home most of the honours of the match at the end of the day.I wish Sri Lanka would have made it to the record books for one of the lowest totals defended.

God knows as what was selectors plans were,when they had to force Dhoni to send in Irfan Pathan and Virat Kohli opening when there were the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who were dropped along with injuries striking key players like Robin Uttappa,Sachin Tendulkar and Goutam Gambhir.Anyway,"KUDOS" to Virat Kohli for striking as many as 6 boundaries in the initial phase of his career. When much is being talked about the brilliant bowling of the Indian side,it is worth mentioning that if not for the likes of Zaheer Khan who took 4-21 by rattling the top order and Praveen Kumar (3-34),the rest were just there to do a formal job of completing the remaining overs.The remaining bowlers' economy read above 4.0 runs an over in comparison with the overall run-rate of 3.68 per over.

It would not have been a disappointment had the Indian team lost even the second encounter.The Sri Lankan bowlers gave away just 4 runs in wides and no-balls compared to 11 wides bowled by the Indian bowlers.It was the captain's knock that helped India see themselves through the match in addition to 27 year old debutant Badrinath who scored an unbeaten 27.

And this time, it was not the magic of Ajantha Mendis that made the Indian batsmen to bother much about.But,it was themselves to blame for their batting debacle.Full marks for Zaheer Khan for a stupendous first spell that sent back Jayawardane ,Sangakkara,Kapugedra and Chamara Silva.Sad that he didn't get a much deserved 5 wicket haul.At the end,it looks like the selectors have to stop trying too much experimenting with the batting order before they make fools out of themselves.

Too Much Of Mendis?

Well..in the past three or four months, one devil that continues to haunt the Indian batsmen is Ajantha Mendis. It all started since the Asia cup in Pakistan, where Mendis ended up taking 16 wickets, that included a career best of 6-13 in the finals. This was followed by his record of a 26 wicket tally in the recently concluded test series against India. And in the first one dayer against the same India, this man was found to trouble the Indian batsmen once again, by tackling three batsman, the must watch delivery being that which was bowled to Yuvraj Singh, that deceived the batsman- who,misjudged it to be fairly outside the leg stump, only to realise it too late that the ball was found to straighten. Full marks for this delivery of Ajantha Mendis.

However, this man has off-late been found to show his skills only against India. To remind, there are as many as 9 test playing nations in the cricketing world.No doubt that this man shows all signs of making it big but, it would be wise not to assume too many things for the moment. And coming to the first ODI betwen India and Sri Lanka, in addition to praising Mendis for his devastating spell, isn't it India also who are making it too big in Mendis? Have they really given it all to Mendis, for they are found to come up with all praise for this man whenever they lose, despite this feat being repeated for not once but for the fifth time in succession.

Do the Indian batsmen have any plans to tackle Mendis? Either they (Indians) take the opposition lightly or they come in for full praise for the same rather than think as what could be done regarding the same. Like Anil Kumble- who before the test series bagan, took the same Mendis lightly. This was not the way the Indians were found playing during their tour of Australia earlier this year. The team that had some success against that best team in the world, is now rather giving it up against a team which is placed below in the ICC points table. All that is needed for the moment is their will to win matches. And until this happens, the result will never change I believe.

Some foolishness in the commentary team should also be noticed. This was observed when one of the commentators were found utterring "It looks like Munaf Patel has done the job for his team (after sending back Sangakkara when the score board read 45-2)", and then after a while, "Sri Lanka in deep trouble now...eight more wickets from here onwards would see India through this game..."..I wonder if anyone is unaware of the fact that each team has 10 wickets to go? Anyway thanks commentators for informing us. Thanks a lot..