It is surprising to see only one Indian batsman could make a half century in the whole test match while four of Sri Lankan batsman made centuries in the only one innings Sri Lanka played. The most surprising thing is the bowing down display of Indian batsmen to spin bowling which they reportedly are masters of. Out of 20 Indian wickets, Muralidharan and Mendis have taken a total of 19 wickets. With such numbers one can understand how good India side is against a spin bowling attack. Perhaps Indian team requires more than a couple of innings more to reach to first innings total of Sri Lanka. I remember the phrase what I hear whenever India loses.

When India starts to bat every pitch becomes a bowling friendly pitch and when it starts to bowl the very same pitch all at sudden turns out to be batsmen friendly.

Of course when they start playing against minnows like Bangladesh and Kenya, they dramatically manage to lower their confidence and lose matches. Sometimes such matches become comeback displays for the likes of Ganguly and others.

I remember when I started watching cricket, only Sachin Tendulkar used to play all the matches and others used to have come-and-go attitude. It was only Sachin who was seen feeling pinch of the situation. That was the only time I have seen seriousness in an Indian cricketer. I am not sure if Sachin still possess that seriousness now. In those days, Azharuddin and Jadeja had a great habit of showing over enthusiasm towards the end of any tournament to show a cause for their place in the Indian side. Your guess is correct. By the time India would have been already out of the series.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka (1st iniings): 600/6 (decl) in 162 overs

India (1st innings): 223 all out in 72.5 overs

India (2nd innings): 138 all out in 45 overs

Sri Lanka won by an innings and 239 runs.

Test Number: 1882