Losing in sub-continent is hard to digest

India's defeat to Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle was a perfect definition of a team caving in. And the loss once again proved that the team fails to learn from the past experiences. The way the Indian team is performing, surely any team will consider itself favourites against Sourav Ganguly's men. It requires more than just talent to produce a win and Sanath Jayasuriya's team proved that it has the perfect blend. A deserving win for a committed and cohesive team - coming after 16 long years against the Indians.

The away blues have come to haunt the Indians once again. I fail to understand why India does not raise its level when playing out of the country. But to suffer a defeat in this manner even in the sub-continent, where the players are supposedly familiar with the conditions, is something I cannot digest and makes me ponder what is wrong with Indian cricket.

Certainly everything is going right for the Sri Lankans. I am impressed and amazed by the Lankan captain. He has all the traits of a leader - a positive attitude, exhilarating batting talent, and the ability to motivate the team. The notable aspect about his batting has been the pulls and cuts which he executes with impeccable timing. What is more striking about Jayasuriya is the speed with which he gathers runs. What a pasting he gave to Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad!

However, for his counterpart, Soruav Ganguly, nothing seems to be going right. One match suspension, fines, the humiliating defeat in the one day final, followed by the meek surrender in the first Test... the list of problems only seems to be growing for the captain. At this stage there is nothing one can do except pray that the captain will regain form.

For Sri Lanka, Dilhara Fernando has been the find of the season. Though he has a long way to go in terms of accuracy, he really has the talent and the pace to trouble any top order batsman. Russel Arnold is the other youngster, who has immense talent and grit and all his knocks have come in the face of adversity. While Srilankan youngsters have grabbed the opportunities, some of the Indian youngsters have not. In the tough no-holds-barred world of international cricket, it is naive to expect free lunch. The opportunities have been presented on a platter to them, only the youngsters seem not to be realising it. I strongly believe that youngsters should be given a long rope, and I am confident that they will come good.

K. SRIKKANTH

www.krishsrikkanth.com

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Section  : Sport
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