Intermittent rain spoilt India's chance of reaching the final as the Sri Lankans grabbed the opportunity of chasing a reduced target to clinch their place in the final Tuesday.India batted brilliantly and it looked a herculean effort for the Lankans to surpass the huge total. But Jayasuriya launched an extraordinary attack which ultimately made things easier for the other Lankan batsmen and they did it in style.The Indian attack lacked penetration and the fielding once again was far below par. India had to beat Lanka by a margin of 25 runs to reach the final. It was not an easy task. Winning by such margins required Sachin Tendulkar to fire on all cylinders. And he did not let his team down while playing a great knock.However, his movements and shot production was badly hampered by a bad back, but determined that he was, there was no stopping the little master once he got into the mood. His masterly innings was out of the top drawer and he played some breathtaking shots. Imagine what he would havedone with the bad back. For the sake of his career, he should take proper treatment, complete with rest before another game of cricket. If this injury is treated properly, it can prove dangerous for one's career.It was a good move by the Indian think tank to drop Ganguly down the order and open with the in-form Ramesh. It gave the batting line-up the necessary depth to pile a big total. Ramesh played reasonably well once again to give a decent start.But Ganguly was a class act. He wisely concentrated on ones and twos and saw the team consolidating its position in the middle overs in the company of his skipper. Ganguly picked up where his skipper had left off, mauling the Lankan attack which put India in a comfortable position at the end of their innings.Though the Sri Lankan's bowled very well in the beginning, they lost their rhythm in the middle overs, with the exception of Muralitharan who bowled brilliantly.The last thing Sachin must have expected was rain at this stage. But rain it did andthat changed India's fortunes. With Jayasuriya on the rampage and Jayawardene showing tremendous maturity, the Sri Lankans made a fight of it.That they eventually failed short of the target mattered little to them. They had after all made it to the all-important final.
