Same old story, new setting

The emphasis on experimenting instead of getting the combination right was intriguing, given that the team is coming off an abysmal season and is missing Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

VVS Laxman8217;s back packing up on the morning of the match forced the team to experiment with a new combine. 8216;8216;We never wanted any risks. Laxman8217;s been in good shape and form, so we decided to rest him for this match,8217;8217; Dravid explained.

But it seemed that they clearly lacked a Plan B. How else does one explain the promotion of Yuvraj Singh 8212; one of the best hitters of the ball 8212; at number three when your opening pair is Sehwag and Dhoni?

His mode of dismissal, an ambitious swish at the ball after struggling to find the singles, explains that his style is better suited to finishing games, not playing the pivotal number three. That role belongs to Laxman or Mohammad Kaif. For all India8217;s pluckiness in the field, and with the ball, the difference lay in the batting.

Sri Lanka played their batting order much better. The only half-century of the match came from Rahul Dravid; the highest score from the hosts was 43. yet they won because four batsmen scored useful 20s with Jayasuriya scoring probably the most important under-50 knock he8217;s ever played.

And while Sri Lanka had four useful partnerships of 44, 36, 32 and 28, India had just two worth 58 and 43.

It was the new season, but the hangover of the last season still seemed apparent. One-day cricket is a batsman8217;s game but the fifth bowler yet again worried India. Sehwag8217;s eight overs cost 45 runs, the costliest of the five bowlers.

The selectors picked Anil Kumble in the squad because they were keen on kicking off the season with a win. By sitting him out and playing against the world8217;s No. 2 one-day team with an attempt to get the combine right seems a touch naive.

Venugopal Rao8217;s knock might justify his selection in hindsight but even JP Yadav8217;s role as support seamer could have been an alternative.

The Indian bowlers had too few runs to defend and despite a valiant effort in the field from their specialist bowlers and the fielders, they lost to a better-prepared Lankan team plagued with injuries.

Meanwhile, a late-night report said Jayasuriya would undergo an MRI scan in Colombo on Sunday after dislocating his right shoulder. He batted through a match-winning knock after Sri Lanka Cricket8217;s Australian surgeon Dr David Young clicked the shoulder back into place but concerns remain about the damage to his rotator cuff and tendon.

SCOREBOARD

India: V Sehwag b Maharoof 14, M Dhoni b Dilhara 2, Y Singh c sub b Dilhara 12, R Dravid b Chandana 54, M Kaif c Muralitharan b Fernando 8, S Raina lbw Muralitharan 0, V Rao c Sangakkara b Muralitharan 38, I Pathan c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 21, H Singh not out 21, Z Khan run out 20, A Nehra not out 1; Extras lb-6, nb-2, w-6 14; Total for 9 wkts, 50 overs 205.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-22, 3-44, 4-63, 5-64, 6-122, 7-159, 8-159, 9-202.
Bowling: Maharoof 9-0-27-1, Dilhara 10-2-31-2, Fernando 10-1-61-1, Muralitharan 10-1-33-3, Chandana 5-0-26-1, Dilshan 3-0-14-0, Arnold 3-0-7-0.
Sri Lanka: K Sangakkara lbw Pathan 14, M Atapattu run out 29, M Jayawardene b Khan 15, T Dilshan lbw Harbhajan 17, R Arnold b Harbhajan 22, S Jayasuriya not out 43, L Dilhara b Pathan 21, U Chandana c Dhoni b Khan 11, F Maharoof not out 23; Extras b-4, lb-3, w-7 14, Total for 7 wkts, 48.2 overs 209.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-55, 3-60, 4-104, 5-112, 6-140, 7-172.
Bowling: Pathan 10-2-43-2, Khan 10-1-32-2, Nehra 10-1-34-0, Harbhajan 10-0-44-2, Sehwag 8-0-45-0, Raina 0.2-0-4-0.

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