Tourists lose their way but reveal bag of tricks

Yet they’d want to study the final stages of the game, a situation they normally have under tight control, when they lost their way and went down in a thrilling finish to the relative amateurs. Blame it on a lack of match practice but Dilhara Fernando overstepping on the last ball, off which Mumbai needed two runs, wasn’t in the script.

After the match Moody did voice his disappointment but added, with trademark bullishness, that it would prepare them better for the ODIs.

He had reason to be optimistic.

The Lankan batting seems in good nick, save a middle-order collapse. Jayasuriya hit seven fours before he went off to an injury which his team insist is not serious.

Yet Lanka’s strength lies in the plethora of bits-and-pieces players, which offers a buffer against mini mishaps. Runs from Maharoof (64), Chandana (37) and Arnold (35) took them from 212/7 in 45 overs to 267.

And though the bowling lost the match, they were without their two key players. Vaas wasn’t there to bowl at the slog, nor was Murali around to sew up the middle overs. The result of this tight contest would surely have been different with their participation.

With the wicket-takers not around one got to see the Lankan art of containment. ‘‘They know where to bowl’’, said Amol Muzumdar. ‘‘They know how to vary the pace and one has to really work hard to score runs.’’

Maharoof and Arnold went for 4.4 per over, Chandana for 5.5. That’s the work they were supposed to do and that they did. On a flat track there’s nothing more can a coach ask for from his second-line bowlers, who’d contributed with the bat.

Also on show was the options that Moody has:

• Spin: Leggies Chandana, offies Arnold and Samarveera and the maestro Murali

• Pacers: Strike bowlers Vaas and Zoysa, run-stoppers Maharoof and Fernando

And their latest all-rounder, Lokuahettige, bowls medium fast.

Now we know why Chappell, at Bangalore, was working so hard on JP Yadav, Agarkar and Irfan Pathan.