It was no doubt one of the saddest days in the history of Sri Lankan cricket when India overwhelmed the reigning world champions by 157 runs. It was an inexplicable performance on the part of Sri Lanka who just didn't get their act together. Skipper Ranatunga did Sri Lanka a great favour by winning the toss and as expected put India in. Chaminda Vaas then turned on the ideal performance when he bowled Ramesh for 4. However, that was the only bright point in an unbelievably gloomy performance by the Lankan bowlers, who to my mind simply couldn't exploit whatever assistance the wicket provided.No doubt the Taunton wicket was quite different to the ones we had played on before with far less movement off the wicket and in the air. But it was the type of wicket where the team that bowls the least bad balls was going to win. And sadly it was the Sri Lankans who really bowled some very unimaginative deliveries. This didn't really help the cause at all as skipper Ranatunga just couldn't set the right field.Ishould really sympathise with Ranatunga who in my opinion did no wrong as a captain. He won the toss which most critics felt was crucial and also would have put the Indian batsmen under lot of pressure. However, the lack of sting in the Lankan seam attack and also some sloppy fielding did let the Indians off the hook, specially after that vital breakthrough. The batting of both Dravid and Ganguly, who added a record 317 runs for the second wicket, was an abject lesson in batsmanship.The way they initially started their partnership by first attacking only the bad bowling, and when set, charging the Lankan attack hitting them off their length should be acknowledged as truly remarkable. The best example was Murali who conceded only 12 runs in his first 7 overs but went for 39 in the next three with Ganguly simply tearing him apart.I feel the real turning point in the match was the way the Indian batsmen believed in themselves and set about building this huge total in the crunch game. This game, in myopinion, should have been a close affair judging the strength of the two teams and the importance tagged to it. However, it was heartbreaking to see the way the Lankan bowlers surrendered.In fairness to the Lankan seamers it would have been very prudent to have had a an experienced coach to assist the Lankan seamers who were, barring Pramodaya, playing for the first time in England in an international event.This fact is confirmed by the presence of Bob Cottam in the England line up, Mike Proctor with South Africans and the very experienced Wasim Akram and Courtney Walsh in their respective sides. I feel the Lankans need to be helped in the finer points and this is what was lacking with the faster bowlers which ultimately proved to be their downfall.After conceding 373 it was unreal to expect a struggling batting line-up to overhaul it. However, I felt that the Lankan supporters had this notion: If India could, why not we. They also knew that Jayasuriya had to hit it rich. It was sadly never to be.Sanath is terribly short of confidence and it was sad to see such a great player struggle. After watching him in the first two games, I strongly felt that he should have batted in the middle order with Atapattu with Mahanama opening. I failed to see why this method was not adopted in this crucial match. On second thoughts it is now doubtful whether it would have paid off at all after conceding such a massive score.Sri Lanka, I feel, should blame themselves for this debacle.Unless the Indians loose to England by a very big margin, and of course, if the Lankans over come the Kenyans too by a massive difference, the lankan team will definitely be out of the Super Six. In fact, the odds are very much against the stated possibilities.To my mind this was a tournament the Lankans could have done well with the wealth of experience they have at their disposal. It was just lack of application at vital times that really mattered. On the brighter side of things the return to form of Aravinda and Arjuna andRoshan's consistency should be viewed with jubilation.With just the Kenyan game to go, a game where they broke a record last time around, the Sri Lankan camp must be determined to do well. I sincerely hope that at least to salvage some lost prestige and for the future of Sri Lankan cricket, Ranatunga and his men will perform the way we remember them from the last World Cup - to win and win handsomely.
