MINUTES after the curtain came down on the series, Indian coach John Wright spoke about the need for the side to get the basics right.
Simple aspects like running between the wickets, bowling to the field, the need to consolidate on starts, and fielders putting pressure on the batsmen.
It was shocking. And much of what he said was true. The Indians had come up short in the fundamentals of the game in the third and final Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
More than the series defeat against a decidedly better side, the lack of discipline in the cricket dished out by the Indian team was worrying. And there are no easy ways out.
Even while admitting that losing was a part of the game, Wright said, "what is important is what you get out of it, what you learn from it."
And Chandu Borde, chairman of the National selection panel, who had flown in for the match, was sad about the youngsters not grabbing the chance in the absence of stars. "They should have capitalised on the opportunity. This pains me."
Even a casual glance at the Indian performance in the decider would tell the story. A team that elects to bat first on a flat wicket, ends up making just 234 and it was a losing battle from there on.
This after the openers Sadagopan Ramesh and Shiv Sundar Das raise 97, setting up a wonderful platform for the team. The rest of the batsmen lost their way quite hopelessly.
It is true that Muttiah Muralitharan bowled superbly, yet the Indians succumbed to the pressure created by the off-spin genius by pressing the panic button and going for non-percentage strokes, when they could have gritted their teeth and seen through his spell without too much damage.
Under the circumstances, with the batsmen coming up woefully short on this true surface it would be unfair to blame the bowlers. Yet, with the exception of a gallant Venkatesh Prasad, they bowled on both sides of the wicket, making things more difficult for their captain. No wonder Lanka ran up a massive 610 for six declared.
When the Indians batted again, 376 runs behind, they had to last for more than two days to save the Test and salvage the series. This time Ramesh and Das put on 107 for the first wicket, but India crumbled once more, some atrocious running between the wickets ruining the side's chances.
At the end of it all, skipper Sanath Jayasuriya presented a happy picture as he held afloat the Coca-Cola trophy, his team winning the Test by a whopping innings and 77 runs, and the series 2-1.
As Jayasuriya admitted there was pressure on him and the team to win the series, following two home series setbacks, against Pakistan and England in the last one year.
And in the England series, Sri Lanka had taken a 1-0 lead, winning at Galle, before England came roaring back clinching the next two. The host for sure didn't want history to repeat itself.
On the eve of the Test, Jayasuriya had spoken about the need for his team to play in a relaxed frame of mind and the side seemed to be enjoying its cricket in Colombo.
None more than Muttiah Muralitharan who exploited the slight bounce on day one well enough to take the game irrevocably away from India. Murali, tormenting the Indians with his exotic bag of tricks, ended up with 11 wickets in the game and 23 for the series.
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was handed out a contentious leg-before decision by umpire Dave Orchard when he came down the track to Murali and was forced into padding the ball with the canny off-spinner altering the line. Still the ball had a long distance to travel and the benefit of doubt should have gone to the batsman. Orchard continued to have a poor game.
Figures of eight for 87 on the first day of a Test, when there is hardly any wear and tear in the pitch, is a phenomenal achievement by any spinner. In the second essay, when India was battling to stay afloat, he sent down a lethal delivery to consume a well-set Ramesh, the ball pitching outside the leg-stump, and whipping across the left-hander before clipping the off-bail.
The Lankans then batted India out of the game with an awesome performance that saw four of their batsmen making hundreds. A feat unprecedented in the island nation's Test history.
Marvan Atapattu (left) and Mahela Jayawardene (right) laid the foundation for Sri Lanka's mammoth score with sparkling centuries.
Jayasuriya later revealed that before the game the Lankan batsmen had a little discussion where the emphasis was on converting good starts to big scores. "Thirties and forties in Test cricket do not help the team. The batsmen have to carry on. This applies to myself too."
At the SSC Ground, the captain had no cause for complaints as the Sri Lankan batsmen feasted on an insipid Indian attack. Marvan Atapattu (108, 223b, 11x4), Mahela Jayawardene (139, 215b, 14x4, 1x6, 1x5), Hashan Tillekeratne (136 not out, 214b, 16x4), and debutant Thilan Samaraweera (103 not out, 125b, 10x4), excelled.
The Indians were not helped by some pretty ordinary 'keeping from Sameer Dighe either; apart from muffing up an easy stumping of Kumara Sangakkara, he let off Jayawardene in his twenties, the luckless leggie Sairaj Bahutule being the bowler to suffer on both occasions.
The most exciting phase of Sri Lanka's massive run spree was seen when opener Marvan Atappatu and the strokeful Mahela Jayawardene were out there in the middle.
Both are delightful in their methods, with soft hands and a delicate touch. Atapattu produced some exquisite cover-drives off either foot, and Jayawardene, lay back to cut the spinners so late, that he was almost hitting the ball off the gloves of the wicket-keeper.
Atapattu, a technically well equipped player, had made a double hundred in the Galle Test against England earlier this year, but had since failed to reach a half-century in seven innings.
"It was just a matter of spending some time in the middle. The ball was hitting the middle of the bat. I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong," said Atapattu later.
Along with Jayawardene, the smooth-stroking Atapattu raised 133 runs in a delightful third wicket partnership and the Lankan innings went from strength to strength.
Yet, Atapattu would have gone at 31 had not substitute Dinesh Mongia's throw from point been wayward with the Lankan miles short of the crease at the non-striker's end. These are the little things that can change the course of matches, chances the Australians and the South Africans seldom miss.
Finally, Atapattu perished to a dubious bat-pad decision off Harbhajan, Orchard once again the umpire in question. By then the score was 252 and Sri Lanka was well in control of the match.
Hashan Tillekeratne (left) and debutant Thilan Samaraweera (right) cracked centuries and rubbed salt into India's wounds with an unfinished 194-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
On the third morning Jayawardene completed a richly deserved hundred, his second of the series, and he is in prime form these days. Beautifully balanced in both attack and defence, the diminutive Jayawardene, used his feet wonderfully well to Harbhajan Singh and dismantled the offie with some deft shots on both sides of the wicket.
And when the pacemen erred in length, Jayawardene unleashed some furious cuts too. Easily the brightest young batsman in the Sri Lankan side, quick of mind and reflexes, and possessing a sound, uncomplicated technique.
Hashan Tillekeratne was under the gun when the cricket caravan moved to Colombo for the final Test. The comeback veteran had failed to deliver in the earlier two Tests of the series, and worse, seemed terribly out of touch.
Pressure was also building up for the inclusion of the promising Michael Van Dort, who had made a century for the Board XI against India in a three-day game. This was the last opportunity for the 34-year-old Tillekeratne and he knew it.
Tillekerante, not the prettiest of batsmen, survived a tentative phase late on day two, and then struggled in the early stages of the third morning, before, gaining in confidence, opening out, and essaying some effective cover-drives and pulls.
The tenacious southpaw went on to reach his seventh Test hundred by sweeping Harbhajan and even as he completed his third run threw his hands up in delight. The Lankan had managed to extend his career after all those moments of uncertainty.
Tillekeratne's unfinished 194-run partnership with Samaraweera, a useful off-spinner as well, drove the Indian attack to a state of desperation.
Samaraweera who had a wonderful 'A' Test series against Pakistan, was as cool as a cucumber, came up with some elegant strokes, and definitely added sting to the Lankan lower order.
His is an interesting story. Samaraweera's omission from the National team for the Coca-Cola Trophy triangular one-day competition went to the extent of angering the Sports Minister, who refused to clear the side.
All that is past now and when Samaraweera was finally provided with a chance in a Test match, he grabbed it with both hands. It was after his fifty, when the third new ball was taken, that the 24-year-old Lankan really opened out, with some pleasing strokes on the off-side. During the first phase of the innings, he had picked most of his runs on the on-side.
He showed no sign of nerves in the 90s, stepping down to Ganguly and playing an inside-out cover-drive. And when he steered Prasad through the slip cordon, Samaraweera had become only the third Lankan to make a century on debut, the other two being wicket-keeper batsmen Brendon Kuruppu and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
At the stroke of Samaraweera's hundred, Jayasuriya declared the innings closed 67 minutes after tea on the third day. Ramesh and Das not only saw through this phase but also went on to frustrate the Lankans on the fourth morning. Ramesh, displaying good judgment outside the off-stump and moving his feet better too, has appeared solid on this tour, while Das, who seemed uncomfortable in both Galle and Kandy, shrugged away the blues with some crisp strokeplay in this Test.
Das was a 'pad-glove' victim to Muralitharan for a well made 68 just before lunch (165m, 161b, 11x4), while Ramesh (55, 165b, 4x4), who appeared confident till that point, received that dream delivery from Muralitharan 40 minutes after lunch.
Dravid, who got to his 4000th run in only his 48th Test, appeared on course to a big knock, but perished in attempting a quick single, Marvan Atapattu scoring a direct hit at the non-striker's end from mid-on. That was the beginning of the Indian end, and the side collapsed in a heap after tea. Despite some bold strokeplay from Zaheer Khan on the final day, it was all over 67 minutes after play commenced. The Lankans were celebrating, for the Indians it was a case of opportunities missed.
The scores: India 234 (S. S. Das 59, S. Ramesh 46, R. Dravid 36, H. badani 38, M. Muralitharan eight for 87) and 299 (Das 68, Ramesh 55, Dravid 36, S. Ganguly 30, Z. Khan 45, Muralitharan three for 109) lost to Sri Lanka 610 for six decl. (M. Atapattu 108, S. Jayasuriya 30, K. Sangakkara 47, M. Jayawardene 139, R. Arnold 31, H. Tillekeratne 136 not out, T. Samaraweera 103 not out, V. Prasad three for 101).
TO cut a long story short, this man can do magic. An off-spinner without parallel in contemporary cricket.
Murali's bowling on what was essentially a flat SSC Stadium pitch will surely go down as one of the finest performances by a spinner on the first day of a Test.
There was just a hint of bounce on day one, but Murali exploited this to perfection, getting the ball to both spin away from the right-hander, straighten into him, and drift away from him. There was the occasional leg-break thrown in as well.
And it was hard work, for Muralitharan sent down a marathon 34.1 overs on the trot, patiently waiting for the first breakthrough and then moving in for the kill.
He kept working on the batsmen. Murali scalped Ramesh, spinning the ball away from the left-hander and inviting him into the drive. And he got Dravid caught on the flick at leg-slip, a well worked out ploy.
And Badani too was a sucker for the drive with the flighted ball spinning away from the southpaw. When on song, Murali, not only kills 'em, but kills 'em softly.
Murali possesses a sharp cricketing mind that can analyse the weaknesses in a batsman quickly, and he keeps chipping away at them relentlessly. "I really enjoyed my spell that day. I wanted to carry on bowling."
Indeed there was a stage, during Muralitharan's never-ending spell from the Tennis Court End when Jayasuriya wanted to give him a short break, but the off-spin wizard insisted on carrying on.
The Indians were bundled out for 234 on the first day of the Test, and there would be no comebacks for the visitors after that.
In the second innings, when India was fighting for survival, and was doing pretty well too with Das and Ramesh raising 107 for the first wicket, it was Murali who began the rout, removing both the openers.
The delivery that nailed Ramesh revealed the offie's craft. The ball pitched outside the left-hander's leg-stump and clipped the off-bail. There was turn, bounce and sorcery in that ball. Man of the Match he was without question. Despite the mountain of runs made by the Lankans at the SSC, Muralitharan was the difference between the sides.
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