MUMBAI, Dec 7: Sachin Tendulkar could be forgiven if he believes God is a Lankan. India had 12 mandatory overs to cook the tailend goose in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the Wankhede Stadium, when celestial intervention thwarted India's determined victory surge. A fleeting shower, followed by failing light, came as twin disasters for India as the third and final Test came to an anti-climactic and premature end today.The dimples were prominent on the cherubic cheeks of Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga. He honestly believed that it was an achievement of sorts by his team in drawing the three-match Test series. India may have dominated two of those matches and there is no disputing the fact that weather had a big say in the outcome of the last two Tests. But at the end of it all, the record books show three successive stalemates - the first time a three-match Test series ending 0-0 in India since Pakistan's tour in 1983-84.Lanka needed 327 runs in 90 overs for victory on the last day to win the final Test and with it the series. But the task was not simple. Only on seven occasions in 1387 Tests have more than 333 runs - Lanka's original target - been scored on the fourth innings for victory!The wear and tear of the Wankhede rectangle was obvious from the loose top soil. There was copious purchase from the wicket for the Indian spinners by way of turn and disconcerting bounce. But the Lankans believed they had a chance as long as they had the divine destructive abilities of Sanath Jayasuriya.The Lankans were on course when Jayasuriya and Maravan Atapattu added 51 in the first hour. But Atapattu mistimed a heave to top-edge a catch to square-leg, followed by Jayasuriya a little later. Jayasuriya was beaten trying to cover drive a slower ball from Anil Kumble. The ball hit high on his bat and lobbed into the hands of Tendulkar at cover.The loss of the two quick setback put the brakes on the scoring as just 30 runs came in 14 overs in the hour before lunch. Yet, there was a ray of hope for the Lankans in the form of Aravinda de Silva.Aravinda made his intentions clear by hoisting Kumble for a six in the second ball he faced. But the Indians knew him to be a compulsive puller and worked out a ploy which was cleverly planned and beautifully executed.Javagal Srinath pitched one short outside the off-stump, baiting Aravinda into the pull. The oceans of space in the area between deep square-leg and and deep mid-wicket that Aravinda had surveyed before Srinath began his run-up was just too tempting. But behind the batsman's back, Chauhan was surreptitiously sprinting from square-leg to a deeper position even as Srinath was steaming in to bowl! Aravinda pulled the ball and was shocked to find Chauhan completing a fine running catch and the entire Indian team coming in a tidal wave to congratulate the fielder.The Lankan challenge was over. And it became a battle of survival when, at the stroke of tea, Roshan Mahanama was adjudged lbw by umpire Steve Bucknor. Mahanama did not offer a stroke to a ball from Chauhan that curled into his pads. The batsman was understandably disappointed as the ball would have missed the off stump.Ranatunga, who batted for 82 minutes and 59 balls before striking his only boundary, also left without offering a stroke - the Kumble delivery snaking from behind his legs to hit the stumps.Chauhan should have had Hashan Tillkeratne (four in a total of 152-5) in his following over, but substitute Nilesh Kulkarni dropped a sitter in the slips.By the time the mandatory overs had begun, with the score 160-6, India had got rid of Kumara Dharmasena - caught bat-glove at silly-point off Kumble. Six runs later, Kumble had Lanka de Silva caught in the slips by Prasad.Even as the crowd was going wild anticipating an Indian victory, a light shower forced the players into the pavilion after just three mandatory overs. Though the players came back in the middle after 14 minutes, they had to leave without a ball being bowled as the umpires found the light unfit for play to continue.There was much debate if umpires Steve Bucknor and AV Jayaprakash were right in preventing play when it was the spinners who were in operation.The law states: "The umpires should only suspend play when they consider that conditions are so bad that it is unreasonable or dangerous to continue." But the fact that Nayan Mongia donned a helmet to shield himself against the dangerous bounce of the spinners proved that even the slower bowlers posed a threat - especially in failing light.The umpires are the sole judges on weather and light and Jayaprakash told The Indian Express that they did not go by just their light meter reading. "The light meter is only a guide. Other things like the background behind the bowler's arm are equally important in determining the visibility."SCOREBOARDIndia (1st innings): 512Sri Lanka (1st innings): 361India (2nd innings): 181-9 declSri Lanka (2nd innings): Sanath Jayasuriya c Tendulkar b Kumble (123m, 86b, 1x6, 3x4) 37, Maravan Atapattu c Kumble b Chauhan (86m, 56b, 6x4) 31, Roshan Mahanama lbw Chauhan (167m, 136b, 3x4) 35, Aravinda de Silva c Chauhan b Srinath (51m, 30b, 1x6) 18, Arjuna Ranatunga b Chauhan (124m, 83b, 1x4) 12, Kumara Dharmasena c Azharuddin b Kumble (73m, 58b) 8, Hashan Tillekeratne not out (47m, 35b, 4x4) 18, Lanka de Silva c Prasad b Kumble (16m, 13b) 0, Chaminda Vaas not out (2m, 1b) 0. Extras (lb 2, nb 5): 7. Total (for 7 wickets, in 82 overs and 350 minutes): 166Fall of wickets: 1-58 (Atapattu), 2-73 (Jayasuriya), 3-106 (Aravinda), 4-133 (Mahanama), 5-146 (Ranatunga), 6-160 (Dharmasena), 7-166 (Lanka de Silva).Bowling: Srinath: 15-5-25-1, Prasad 8-3-23-0, Chauhan 26-9-59-3, Kuruvilla 3-2-1-0, Kumble 28-13-56-3, Tendulkar 2-2-0-0Result: DrawnMan of the Match and Man of the Series: Saurav Ganguly
