Though the Sri Lankan cricket team defeated the minnows of cricket Zimbabwe, in a 5-0 whitewash on their soil, they did not obtain this victory on a platter.

In the last 3 ODIs they tightened the screws on the Sri Lankans. With an element of luck, they could have triumphed in one or two of the last three ODIs.

Taking on Bangladesh, the Lankans were in for a rude shock, when they were humbled in a group game. In the Tri-Nations final, the Lankans emerged winners, by the skin of their teeth, in a nail biting finish. It was that wizard of spin, Murali, who turned the tide in favour of Sri Lanka, in a dramatic manner.

He set about his task with a vengeance, with his pinch hitting, which blew the day lights out of the Bangladesh bowlers. His blistering innings of 33 not out sealed their fate and made a very unlikely Sri Lankan victory a reality. That’s history.

Sri Lanka’s next encounter was on Pakistani soil, for a three match ODI series. The hosts rocked the boat when they won the first match. Sri Lanka bounced by back and levelled the series 1-1. In the final encounter, at the packed Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, all hell broke loose, when the Pakistanis were grounded to dust on their own soil, in one of the most shocking defeats they have tasted in their long history.

Against this backdrop, the powerful Indian team is now in our country, for a five match ODI series; a different kettle of fish. In the wake of their arrival, the Lankan skipper’s boast was that he would target them in the same vein as he targeted the Pakistanis, which turned out to be wishful thinking.

The Indian captain, M. S. Dhoni having won the toss opted to give Sri Lanka first lease of the wicket. Sri Lanka made a disastrous start when T. M. Dilshan, who held center stage in batting against the Pakistanis, was run out in the third ball of the match. One can’t understand this mad rush for runs in the very first over of the match by these experienced players, when they have hardly got their eye in. The old war-horse, Sanath, with a fighting innings of 109 proved that he had not lost the magic of his willow and showed the batsmen to follow what batting is all about. Apart from Kumar Sangakkara 44, Tilina Kandamby 17 and a courageous 35 from Farveez Maharoof, the rest of the batting folded up like a pack of cards. Yet again, the Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene continued his miserable drought in ODIs. If he was in the team just as a player, he would have been confined to the cricketing wilderness, in the shorter version of the game.

His coming in after Maharoof, was tono avail, as he was out to a soft dismissal for a paltry 11 runs. His pathetic form with the willow, I presume could be attributed to the infamous role he played in the IPL episode in his craving for money, which may have had a mental impact on him.

The Sri Lankans set a total of 246 for the Indians to chase. It was not a tall order for the quality Indian batsmen. The Lankan captain pinned his hopes on his two spinners, Murali and Ajantha, who failed to respond to his call. Murali, who had only three wickets to take to achieve yet another milestone in his illustrious career, finished his 10 overs with just one wicket for 50 runs.

Ajantha, who tormented the Indian batsmen in the Asia Cup, was a different proposition. He failed to gain a single wicket in his 10 overs, which cost him 47 runs. The Indian batsmen, where he is concerned, appeared to have done their home work to perfection. They read him well.

The Indian top order batting clicked. skipper M. S. Dhoni led from the front with a captain’s innings of 61 not out. It’s time the Sri Lankan skipper takes a leaf from his book. With the Lankan bowlers failing to make any impression on the Indian batsmen, they cruised to an easy victory, with 11 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.

This should be a wake up call for the Lankans if they are to come back fighting in the rest of the matches.