Still clueless in mystery island

It8217;s likely that Abhinav Bindra8217;s heroics will leave little time for cricketing discussions, but events that unfolded in Colombo...

It8217;s likely that Abhinav Bindra8217;s heroics will leave little time for cricketing discussions, but events that unfolded in Colombo in the hours following India8217;s first ever individual Olympic gold did raise a lot of questions.

Though the eventual Sri Lankan victory, by a comfortable eight wickets, isn8217;t the kind of result that inspires wishful thinking, but there were a few points that rankled at the end of a Test match that India fought all the way through. Had India scored a few more runs, would Sri Lanka have chased them down in as commanding a manner? Had Ishant Sharma been fit, could the hosts have managed to run away as they did?

Had a few referrals gone India8217;s way, would the result 8212; not just of this Test, but the series as well 8212; have been any different?

But, in the middle of all these questions, there8217;s the likelihood that the most pertinent, and uncomfortable one, might get lost. Has India delayed taking a fresh look at the composition of the Test side and phasing out the seniors?

Time to ring out the old?

Sri Lanka have done it, and the results are there to see. They have resisted the temptation of redrafting the in-form 39-year-old opener Sanath Jayasuriya in the Test side and he hasn8217;t been missed. The sight of opener Malinda Warnapura returning with a stump in one hand along with skipper Mahela Jayawardene showed that the Lankans had passed the uncomfortable transition stage.

The seven-Test old Warnapura, who gave Sri Lanka a flying start in the series by scoring a ton in the first innings of the first Test, was there to give the finishing touch as well with a crucial unbeaten 54 in the fourth innings of the final Test. He handled the pressure like an old pro even as the Indians got a faint sniff of victory at 22 for 2. Despite the constant chatter from close-in fielders and a showdown with Harbhajan Singh, he stood firm in an unbeaten 101-run partnership with Jayawardene.

Another frame that symbolised Lanka8217;s potent youth-experience mix was the one of Man of the Series Ajantha Mendis and Man of the Match Kumar Sangakkara, as they walked to the award ceremony. As Muttiah Muralitharan clapped from the sidelines, it was clear on the final day of the series that phasing out wasn8217;t a problem the Lankans seem to be facing.

Praying for miracles

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The day had started with a miracle. As the Indians got into the Olympic mood by playing a game of volleyball at warm-up, news trickled in of Bindra8217;s feat. Miracles were expected from Laxman and Dravid and they started in flawless fashion, putting on 85 comfortable runs.

But Mendis did the trick by going round the wicket and having Dravid caught in the slips. The tailenders did their bit, but the pressure was too much for them to sustain. Laxman hobbling back on a sprained left ankle painted a picture of India8217;s fractured hopes.

With Sachin Tendulkar ruled out of the ODI series because of elbow injury, he will have Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman for company as they fly out of Sri Lanka. And that would drastically reduce the average age of the MS Dhoni-led ODI side. In days to come, if there are a few worthy performances with the bat from the youngsters in Sri Lanka, the question will definitely come up: Had one of them been around during the Test series8230;