One series a piece for India and Sri Lanka

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Last time I wrote for Past Point, India and Sri Lanka were level in the test series and set for a decider in the final match at Colombo. Well, at lot has happened since then so let’s play catch up.

In the final test a lot of people fancied India to emerge victorious. They had levelled the series after a heavy defeat in the first test and many believed that with their confidence up, they could wrap up a valuable 2-1 series victory. My cricket betting money was staying in my pocket though – I wasn’t sure who to go for. I expected a tight game.

In reality though, this wasn’t really the case as India’s batting cost them the game and Sri Lanka won by eight wickets. The tourists – who won the toss and decided to bat – posted a rather disappointing 249 all out in their first innings. From this point onwards – they weren’t in the game at all. Sri Lanka racked up a healthy first innings lead after making 396 and this was followed by another lacklustre batting display from India.

Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis – who took 47 wickets between them in the three match series – took three wickets each as India could only make 268. Several of their batsmen made starts, but none of them managed to secure three figures. Something which could have got the Indians back into the game. This all meant that Sri Lanka only needed 122 to win the game and they reached their total comfortably thanks to a century stand between Malinda Warnapura and skipper Mahela Jayawardene. After the predictions of a very tight final test match – it was a relatively easy win for Sri Lanka.

So, with the test series at an end, it was time for the limited overs cricket to begin. India were keen to finish the tour on a high after the defeat in the test match series and Sri Lanka were looking to prove their dominance over the Indians.

The one-day series actually took up a similar pattern to that of the test series. The first game was dominated by the Sri Lankan spinners as they won by eight wickets. The second game was considered an Indian fight back and they won a low-scoring contest by three wickets.This time though there was to be a different end result in the third match. India won by 33 runs and were just one victory away from winning the series.

Then it was time for the fourth one day international. After posting a respectable 258 in their innings, India managed to bowl out Sri Lanka for 212. Harbajhan Singh helped himself to three wickets with Yuvraj Singh and Patel getting two each. This victory put India 3-1 up with one game to play. It was a fine bowling display from the tourists and they deserved their series victory. Interestingly, it was the first time Sri Lanka had lost consecutive home one-day series. This defeat to India follows England’s 3-2 victory over them ten months ago.

So, there you have it. It’s a series a piece for India and Sri Lanka. Of course, if given the choice, most teams would take a test series win, but India will be encouraged by the way they performed in the one-day games and pleased that they came away from Sri Lanka with something to show for it. With just one game remaining – the sides meet again in Colombo tomorrow – there is only pride at stake with the series already won by the tourists.

In my next few articles for Past Point, I will be casting an eye over the Australia v Bangladesh one-day series.  This isn’t a contest as far as cricket betting goes, but it’s still worth a look to see how Australia are shaping up ahead of next year’s Ashes series. The next test series I will be focusing on again involves Australia as they travel to India for a four match test series. It’s normally rather explosive when these two sides meet and I wouldn’t expect it to be any different this time around.

Thomas Rooney – Freelance Sports Journalist

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