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The chase that wasn't

When Avishka Gunawardene and Marwan Atapattu came in, they looked very tentative indeed. And despite some exceptions, that was the trend right down the Lankan line-up.

Srinath took advantage of the nippy wicket as only he can and had Gunawardene often wondering whether or not to touch the ball. But he cut away one ball nicely in the first over itself. Robin Singh dived full length to bring off a spectacular stop.

Srinath had realised the importance of never giving room outside off on such a pitch. And he soon began pitching it farther and slower, giving the ball time to move later and more sharply. But Agarkar kept pitching shorter and letting the pitch do the rest. But when he strayed outside off in the effort, he was punished. The score stood at 6 in 2 overs.

The next over Srinath strayed and was punished. But then he tightened his line again, getting the ball to kick up time and again.

The breakthrough came in his next over. He got one to come in to Gunawardene. But the ball came in lower and faster than the batman anticipated and he ended up ballooning it to Kumble for an easy catch.

After keeping Atapattu quiet for four balls, Agarkar got one shorter ball to move away from the off-stump. Atapattu hung his bat out for an edge and Ganguly at first slip, first looking like he was fending it off, finally held the ball.

De Silva came in with the clear idea that he would take his time to get going. So he let go balls he'd normally have punished, waiting to get his eye in.

The 14th over yielded two fours from Jayawardene -- a weird one that went off the back of the bat to third man and the other, more authoritative, down the track and over mid-off.

In 16 overs, Lanka was 75/2, but in the 17th a slower ball from Robin Singh beat Jayawardene and he was caught behind.

This is where Lanka messed up badly. Instead of persisting with the normal line-up -- which would mean that Ranatunga would come in -- Vaas was sent in to prop up the flagging run rate.

In the 19th over Robin Singh got Vaas to pull at a climbing ball and send it down the throat of Hrishikesh Kanitkar, substituting for the injured Ramesh, at deep midwicket. The experiment had failed. Vaas hadn't scored a run.

In the 20th over, Lanka's score was 92/4 as against India's 75/2 at the same stage.

Ranatunga and de Silva got the singles going again, albeit slowly, and took the team to 141 without further loss in 30 overs. But just as the Lankans were beginning to see a glimmer of hope, disaster struck.

De Silva got run out attempting a cheeky single. Upul Chandana stepped in and, getting an inner edge off the first ball, hared down the track, leaving Robin Singh to effect one of the most amazing run-outs ever. Singh, the bowler, raced down the track, picked the ball up with his right hand when the batsmen were midway through and spinning 180 degrees flung it straight at the middle stump at the striker's end, leaving Ranatunga stranded.

That was the end, though the tail wagged a while. The required run rate climbed inexorably and when Upasantha hit two fours and a six, it didn't make a mite of a difference. Lanka was then in the 44th over with 230 on the board and eight wickets down.

In the 45th over, Kumble ended the islanders' agony, getting a shorter ball, a flipper, to take the edge and knock down Wickremasinghe's stumps. Lanka were all out for 235, 51 runs behind.

Jadeja was declared man of the match and everyone had a nice word for Khurasia's innings. Then the Indians went off to celebrate, the Lankans to ponder their options.

Since Lanka is out of the race for the Pepsi Cup, the Mohali game between India and Pakistan remains a mere formality before the final in Bangalore. This, of course, gives the two teams the opportunity to check out untried players since much of this tournament has already been spent in finding the right combo for the World Cup.

The Indian fielding this time was exceptional, for, despite giving away overthrows a couple of times, they were bang on target more often than not. The bowling, bar that of Nikhil Chopra, whom Chandana and Upasantha belted around, was on target and strayed less often than usual. This match, won without Sachin Tendulkar and Azhar, should give the Indians some confidence.

Particularly happy should be Khurasia. As a placard proclaimed, perhaps prematurely, 'Amay, your ticket to England is booked'.

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