In The Mix,the pub at the team hotel,Praveen Kumar asked the DJ to play the right music while his team mates skipper MS Dhoni,Suresh Raina,Rohit Sharma,Yuvraj Singh,L Balaji and Ravindra Jadeja were dragged to the dance floor by Ishant Sharma. Sachin Tendulkar took guard at the pool table while Gary Kirsten and even the reluctant duo of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag managed a little jig as they celebrated their series win,a repeat of August last year. They woke up to the sound of booming guns early on Wednesday morning,as Sri Lanka celebrated its National Day. But no one was losing sleep ahead of the fourth one-day international. Wednesday was a day of rest for Team India,with just a function in the evening,as the unassailable lead in the series gave them a distinct sense of comfort. A record-breaking string of victories now beckons Dhonis team,for no Indian side has ever won nine ODIs on the trot,but the skipper still has a searing urge to test his reserve strength. Irfan Pathan,Rohit and Jadeja have looked battle-ready at the nets,while the newly-arrived L Balaji pitched the ball in the right zone during his short training session before the match on Tuesday. Looking for a ruthless clean sweep,however,there is every chance that India will make hardly any change on Thursday in yet another day-night encounter at the Premadasa Stadium. Playing for pride,Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene would want to rework his side for the match,but the lack of quality options in the bench make it difficult to make many changes,except perhaps some tinkering with a seamers slot. Some individuals have done well in the three games,but the need of the hour for the hosts is to click together as a unit. The rawness in the Lankan ranks has suddenly shifted from the middle order to the lower end of the line-up,with the bowlers failing to check the rampaging Indians. The lack of planning and lateral movement with the new ball is easy fodder for Virender Sehwag,and the storyline on Thursday will again hinge mainly around him. And strangely,within this contest between two sides,there is a third-party interest. Sachin Tendulkar has been dignified so far,as have been the entire team,to the standard of umpiring seen in the series from Brian Jerling and Kumara Dharmasena,with Indias leading batsman being the victim on three occasions already. There may be only two dead rubbers to follow,but not everything is done and dusted yet. A few milestones and some brownie points can still be a good recipe for some lip-smacking cricket.
