THE scenario preceding the game against Lanka on July 28 was gloomy for the Indians. The side had lost three matches in a row, and worse, captain and key batsman Sourav Ganguly was suspended for a match by match referee Cammie Smith.
Ganguly had pointed to his bat after being adjudged leg-before to Kiwi paceman Kyle Mills by umpire Gamini Silva and Smith, who seems to have different yardsticks for different people, was quick to wield the axe.
There was more bad news for the beleaguered side. Batting star V. V. S. Laxman (cartilage problem of the right knee) and left-arm pacemen Zaheer Khan (painful right shin) and Ashish Nehra (sore left groin) were all in the injured list.
Laxman and Zaheer were slated to leave for India a day after the game and Nehra following the conclusion of the one-day series. For a side that was already short on morale and confidence, the sequence of events leading up to a do-or-die encounter against the home team had come at the worst possible moment.
Rahul Dravid was the captain for India's fourth game, against Lanka, at the Premadasa Stadium and this was only the second one-day international in which he was leading the country.
Interestingly, he had skippered India in the Rajkot ODI against Zimbabwe last year under similar circumstances after Ganguly was suspended for the game by the match referee.
India had won that duel. Would history repeat itself this time? The odds were certainly against that happening.
Cricket can surprise all of us even as predictions are thrown out of the window. This was a match where we witnessed just that. Lanka won the toss, but it was India that clinched the game.
In the end, India registered a comprehensive victory with seven wickets and 26 balls to spare, and it was Laxman, under an injury cloud, who played a heroic role for his country, remaining unbeaten on a majestic 87, dotted with sparkling drives on either side of the wicket and some audacious pulls.
Earlier, Zaheer and Nehra also had played their parts as Lanka, happily placed at 143 for two at one stage, lost its last eight wickets for 40 runs, a combination of a few reckless shots, and some purposeful bowling.
Dravid was impressive in his role too, coming up with the right moves at the right time and having a calming influence on the team. The man seems to enjoy the additional responsibility, a good sign for the future.
Coming to the Lankan innings, skipper Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, back in the new role after Avishka Gunawardene was dropped for the game, provided the innings a solid platform, putting on 103 in 24.2 overs, Jayasuriya making 57 (74b, 5x4, 1x6) and Kaluwitharana scoring 46 (97b, 3x4). However, both batsmen were decidedly lucky to survive confident leg-before appeals, leaving Zaheer, Nehra and Harbhajan Singh very disappointed men indeed.
No. 3, Marvan Atapattu's 34 was the next highest contribution. Of the remaining batsmen only Russel Arnold (11) reached double figures. A revealing fact as the host lost its way hopelessly.
Things started to happen at the fall of Mahela Jayawardene's wicket, the out-of-form batsman perishing to Hemang Badani's left-arm spin.
Wickets then fell in a heap with the Indian fielding too picking itself up. Dravid switched the bowlers around, never really allowing the batsmen to settle down and his move to opt for pace from both ends during the period the spinners were bowling well proved a masterstroke.
Zaheer and Nehra, putting behind injury worries, responded to their skipper. In fact, Zaheer reserved a rather special yorker for the in-form pace bowling all-rounder Suresh Perera, who, for once, did not have an answer as the ball crashed into his stumps.
On a wicket that held no terrors for the batsmen, 183 was never going to be enough for the Lankans even if India's recent record, when it comes to chasing targets, has been less than satisfactory.
Amay Khurasiya hardly causing a ripple in his comeback, was castled by left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas early on, and in walked Laxman, his right knee strapped.
Laxman's barrage of shots in the fifth over of the innings, when he dismissed Vaas ruthlessly for three boundaries, two of them off-drives and one pull, conveyed the mean mood he was in.
Virender Sehwag had his share of problems against the quick stuff from Dilhara Fernando - Jayawardene putting down a simple catch at second slip as the Delhi batsman failed to keep a lifter down - but he stayed long enough to add 66 runs in 81 balls with Laxman.
The next partnership of 84 in 142 balls for the third wicket put the game beyond Lanka. Laxman and Dravid (43, 79b, 3x4) played good, sensible cricket, handling Muttiah Muralitharan - considering Lanka's below par total, the off-spin wizard's spell was the decisive one of the contest - without too much difficulty.
Vaas picked up his 200th ODI wicket, getting Dravid to nick one to wicketkeeper Kaluwitharana but there was no stopping India this time. Dravid had also maintained his 100 per cent record in ODIs as captain, winning both his matches.
The scores:Sri Lanka: S. Jayasuriya c Khurasiya b Harbhajan 57; R. Kaluwitharana c Sodhi b Yuveraj 46; M. Atapattu c Sodhi b Sehwag 34; M. Jayawardene c Dighe b Badani 5; C. Vaas c Laxman b Harbhajan 5; R. Arnold c Yuveraj b Nehra 11; S. Perera b Zaheer 4; K. Sangakkara (run out) 2; K. Dharmasena c Dighe b Zaheer 1; M. Muralitharan b Nehra 2; D. Fernando (not out) 1. Extras (lb-10, nb-5) 15. Total (in 46.5 overs) 183.
Fall of wickets: 1-103, 2-128, 3-143, 4-160, 5-166, 6-177, 7-177, 8-178, 9-181.
India bowling: Zaheer 8-0-30-2; Nehra 7.5-0-31-2; Harbhajan 10-1-32-2; Sodhi 3-0-13-0; Sehwag 10-0-40-1; Yuveraj 6-1-20-1; Badani 2-0-7-1.
India: A. Khurasiya b Vaas 0; V. Sehwag c Sangakkara b Dharmasena 27; V. V. S. Laxman (not out) 87; R. Dravid c Kaluwitharana b Vaas 43; H. Badani (not out) 11; Extras (lb-5, w-9, nb-2) 16. Total (for three wkts. in 45.4 overs) 184.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-67, 3-151.Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 10-1-47-2; Perera 2-0-12-0; Fernando 6-1-25-0; Muralitharan 10-3-28-0; Dharmasena 10-0-36-1; Jayasuriya 5-0-22-0; Arnold 2.4-0-9-0 .
IT was a heroic performance from this affable cricketer. V. V. S. Laxman displayed character and courage, pushing through the barrier of pain and enabling India conquer a barrier of a different kind.
You can trust Laxman to produce something special when the team needs it - no wonder the Aussies, never quick to heap praise on a cricketer, call him 'Very Very Special' Laxman.
His mind-boggling series-turning 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens early this year, arguably the greatest knock by an Indian in Tests, had elevated him into a rarefied zone.
Laxman followed his glorious displays in the historic Test series with a string of fine performances in the one-dayers that followed. However, judged against his own high standards, he had a forgettable tour of Zimbabwe, and when he arrived in Lanka, Laxman was keen to make amends.
The Hyderabad batsman made a fighting 60 in the first game against New Zealand, but his airy stroke when he attempted to drive Kiwi paceman Darryl Tuffey, only to drag the ball on to the stumps, would not have pleased this proud performer.
Coming to this game, Laxman was a doubtful starter following his knee injury and only played because Ganguly had been suspended for the game and India needed experience in the line-up.
He made it an occasion to remember, his 127-ball 87 not out (10 x 4) containing strokes all round the wicket, with his off-drives, flicks and the pulls having that stamp of class.
And despite a dodgy knee that will require surgery soon, Laxman ran his singles hard - something that provides us with a glimpse of his commitment.
"Once you are in the playing XI, you have to give 100 per cent for the country. It is up to you to work around the pain. I wanted to hang in there, win the game for India," said Laxman after the knock.
Laxman was being modest. He did more than just hang in there. He seldom allowed the bowlers to call the shots, and conjured some imperious strokes.
With a natural strokemaker like Laxman in the middle, the runs are bound to come at a nice clip. The 50 arrived in 11 overs, the 100 came in 24 overs, the score was 147 after 35 and now it only was a question of time before the target was reached.
Considering that India had struggled to build partnerships before this match, Laxman's stands of 66 in 81 balls with Sehwag for the first wicket and 84 for the second in 142 deliveries with Dravid, proved vital in the end, shutting out Lanka from the game.
The final run, a scampered single after Hemang Badani turned Russel Arnold, meant that Laxman, despite the injury, did not hold himself back when it came to running between the wickets. Apart from being a classy knock, it was also a brave one too.
Dravid summed up India's and Laxman's performance when he said, "the team displayed a lot of character out there."
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