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The second Test between India and Sri Lanka, at the SSC ground in Colombo, ended in a predictable draw on Friday.
With the result a certainty, Sri Lanka, having allowed India take a 65-run lead, scored 129 for 3 on the fifth and final day before play was called off.
The home team batted for just 45 overs in their second innings and had a lead of 64 when stumps were drawn for the final time in the Test.
The final day's play was essentially for batting practice for a few players. And, as has been the case for the five days, the bowlers had a tough time picking wickets.
The drab draw thus can best be described in one word: forgettable.
It essentially means the home team will head for the third and final Test with their 1-0 lead, having won the opening Test at Galle, intact.
And India can no longer win the series. It can, at the most, share the honours.
Morning session: (57 runs, 29.2 overs, one wicket)
Indian innings: (38 runs, 27.2 overs, one wicket)
Ajantha Mendis opened the bowling for the home side and bowled a maiden first up.
With no pressure as such, it was good batting practice for both the batsmen, Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha.
Just one run came off the first 28 balls before Ojha smashed a Mendis full toss between cover and mid-off for his first boundary.
The second boundary, a cover drive by Ishant, helped extend India's lead to 50 runs.
Overall, it was slow progress for India. In fact, scoring the one run that would have taken them from 699 to 700 took India a whopping 20 balls.
Eventually, after 27.2 overs of painstaking progress, Dilhara Fernando had Ishant caught by Kumara Sangakkara at gully to bring the Indian innings to a close.
After 225.2 overs, the visitors were finally dismissed for 707, a lead of 65 runs.
It was only the third time that India had put up 700-plus in an innings, and 19th occasion overal that such a feat was achieved in Test cricket.
Ishant's 27 took him a whopping 117 balls. Ojha remained unbeaten on 18.
The duo added 39 runs for the final wicket, batting close to 30 overs.
Earlier, at close of play on the penultimate day (after 198 overs), Thursday, the visitors had amassed 669 for nine, a lead of 27 runs.
Post-lunch session: (79 runs, 30 overs, three wickets)
The Sri Lankan second innings began on a good note but lost its way soon after.
Tillekeratne Dilshan (14) was the lone wicket to fall, caught at short midwicket by Ishant Sharma off Abhimanyu Mithun.
The opening wiicket partnership yielded the home team 50 runs at almost a run-a-ball.
Tharanga Paranavitana, the first innings centurion, looked in good touch in his 34. However, in his fourth over, Harbhajan Singh induced a thick edge off his blade and VVS Laxman made no mistake at second slip.
However, by then, the lead had been erased.
Mahela Jayawardene (5) also didn't last long, trapped in front of the wicket by Virender Sehwag.
At tea, captain Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten on 30 with Thilan Samaraweera yet to score.
If the opening session had witnessed just 57 runs being scored, the second session saw 79.
Post-tea session: (31 runs, 13 overs, no wickets)
The final session was lacklustre, to say the least.
With the result being obvious, the teams went through the motions in a mechanical manner.
The Indian bowlers and fielders did their bit to lift spirits with some ambitious appeals. But all they succeeded in doing was amusing the umpires.
After 13 overs had been bowled in the session, the umpires consulted both the captains and announced the end.
Sangakkara was unbeaten on 42 and Samaraweera on 10 when the match ended.
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