For every first-time visitor who is aware of December 26, 2006 - the day the sea lost it - the trip from Colombo to Galle is spent thinking about disastrous consequences. As the serpentine road religiously sticks to the periphery to the Island, it is puzzling to understand how the human settlement still maintains a stone’s-throw distance from the splashing waves that two years back showed their monstrous face. But soon, the mood changes as one gets used to the sight of a few moss-infested ruins and several freshly constructed houses lining the sea.By the time we reach Galle and ask everyone the obvious breaking-the-ice question — “Where were you when the tsunami hit Lanka’s south coast?” — it is clear that bygones are bygones here. They do speak vividly about the bad dream, but that typically Sri Lankan half-smile is impossible to wipe out.Resilient IndiaSomehow, after watching the Indians at their first net session after the wash out and spin dry at the SSC, it is clear that they too have heavily inhaled the resilient air in the atmosphere. Trying to get over the trauma of the first Test, they don’t seem like a bunch of no-hopers ready to press the panic buttons but come across as a unit methodically nursing their burnt fingers.Coach Gary Kirsten walked in first to have a long look at the pitch, and this was followed by an intensive fielding session. There were no signs of the batsmen trying to make quick corrections while endlessly batting at the nets. Nor were the bowlers asked to bowl punishing spells. Actually, batting and bowling wasn’t there on the agenda at all as the entire team took to the field. Even wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik, who had a forgettable outing in the first Test and is expected to be under pressure because of the presence of a second gloveman in the tour party, too seemed like a man who was very much in the scheme of things. Karthik under the scannerKarthik spent a lot of time working on his leg side collection — he dropped Sri Lanka’s highest run-getter Mahela Jayawardene twice — on the main square.Subsequently, Kirsten and Sachin Tendulkar helped him to get the collection of faint edges right. With his behind-the-stump training over, the coach took him for indoor nets and the two were last to board the team bus. Speaking to the media, opener Gautam Gambhir spoke about how the team was rallying behind Karthik and helping him get over the crisis. “He is an international cricketer and it’s just a question of one bad game. Everybody can have one bad Test. So all we are doing is to make him comfortable. I am sure he will be better in the next game,” he said.Positive thinkingBe it the usual questions about the mood in the dressing room or even the issue of handling the Murali-Mendis threat, the word that unfailingly escaped from Gambhir’s mind was ‘positive’. Though most of the lines were cliched thoughts that cricketers can be expected to give even in their sleep, the attempt to look forward was certainly there. On hindsight, there was one quote that explains the thinking in the Indian dressing room. After days spent extensively analysing the Murali-Mendis combination, it was a welcome change to hear Gambhir say, “We are not over-analysing, we are moving forward.”But there were a few sound bytes on the Galle ground that weren’t so encouraging for the Indians. The curator of the ground, former Lankan offie Jayananda Warnaweera said that he expects that the game will be over in four days. Hints of swing?Any doubts about the statement being neutral are wiped away when he adds, “In case Lanka win the toss, there is no chance for India to win.” Though, he does say that the famous breeze at Galle stadium, overlooking the old fort and sea beyond, could help the pacers.” So will the combination make an impact? “Not much if Mendis and Murali bowl as they did in SSC,” he says. Hearing such doomsday predictions, it’s tough to keep hope floating. For every visitor to Galle, who is aware of July 26, 2008 — the day the Indian batsmen lost it — the stay in Galle is spent thinking about disastrous consequences.
