The decade has changed, but India’s fortunes in finals haven’t. They slid to yet another defeat as Sri Lanka becalmed a familiar opposition in the game that mattered.

Mahela Jayawardene, recalled midway through the series, guided Lanka’s tough chase of 246 with a mature, unbeaten 71. There were useful contributions from Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan as well which ensured that India’s mighty fight back with the bat courtesy Suresh Raina’s magnificent century went in vain.

Batting first, the Indians slumped to 60 for 5 in no time before Raina’s rearguard action, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja, ensured the team ended with a respectable score. But, in the end, it was Jayawardene’s effort that mattered the most.

Coming into bat following the quick dismissals of Dilshan and Sangakkara, the former Lankan skipper anchored the innings to perfection to take Lanka home in the penultimate over.

Playing risk-free cricket, he began hesitantly, pushing and prodded at most deliveries. But, once he settled down, he brought out some of his classy strokes as well.

It was Jayawardene at his methodical best, just what the doctor ordered for Sri Lanka. He found an able ally in Thilan Samaraweera, with whom he added 48 crucial runs after the loss of two quick wickets.

The team found itself in a spot of bother after Samaraweera’s dismissal, bowled by Jadeja’s arm ball, was followed by Thilina Kandamby’s, who was accounted for by Harbhajan Singh. But, nothing affected Jayawardene on this day.

He had his share of deserved luck too when Harbhajan put him down at point, just after he had crossed his half-century. Suraj Randiv fell with another 18 runs still required.

But S. Sreesanth, who disappointed big time, released all the pressure by allowing Jayawardene to hit him for three boundaries to various parts of the ground and that was the series.

Earlier, Sri Lanka laid a solid platform for the win despite losing Upul Tharanga in the first over. Tharanga slashed at one way outside off-stump from Ashish Nehra.

But the unfit left-arm seamer couldn’t take much further part in the final and the in-from Dilshan and Sangakkara took full advantage of it. Neither Zaheer Khan nor Sreesanth could stop the flow of runs as Lanka progressed smoothly to 93 for one.

It needed the golden arm of Yurvaj Singh to break the partnership. Dilshan tried to cut glide one behind the wickets and ended up edging the ball into MS Dhoni’s gloves, one short of another 50 against India.

Buoyed by the breakthrough, Harbhajan snared Sangakkara for 55 with a rising delivery that spun away from the left-hander and induced the edge. Some tense moments followed, but Jayawardene and Samaraweera went about the rebuilding task without much fuss.

At the start of the game, bowling was the big worry for India. But on the big day, the batters ditched the side. India lost their first five wickets for a mere 60 runs, 42 of them coming from Virender Sehwag’s bat as Nuwan Kulasekara and Chanaka Welegedara shared the spoils.

Raina came in and played a splendid knock, but in hindsight, the damage caused by then proved to be irreparable.

Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form, registered the second ODI century of his career as India got the better of Bangladesh in an inconsequential encounter prior to the tri-series finals.

Chasing a decent target of 248, Indian batters eased to the target with Virat Kohli’s contribution being supported by cameos all around. Earlier, batting first, Bangladesh recovered from a precarious 95 for 5 to post a reasonable score of 247 for the loss of six wickets.

Shakib Al Hasan’s was the star of the show with the bat for the hosts, striking an impregnable 85. He was ably supported by Mahmudullah, who carried on his good form against the Indians and remained unbeaten on 64. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, the Indians proved to be too good for them once again and raced home to an easy win.

Kohli, who was deservedly named Man of the Match, batted in a commanding manner, proving that he has learnt very quickly from his past mistakes. His cuts, drives and pulls were equally impressive and the beleaguered bowlers had no answer to Kohli’s prowess.

He slammed Shafiul Islam for a number of boundaries with great authority and similar punishment was meted out to Naeem Islam as well. Kohli went on to complete a well-compiled hundred with a leg side whip off Shakib’s bowling and end the game.

The new India number three was lucky to be offered a couple of lives. Mohammad Ashraful dropped him off Syed Rasel’s bowling at deep midwicket. Kohli was then on 83. Very soon, wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim missed a stumping chance created by Shakib.

A couple of balls later Suresh Raina was reprieved as well, but it hardly could have had any impact on the game.

What could have helped Bangladesh was early wickets, but that was far from the case. Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir were offered plenty of width to play their favourite shots.

While Dinesh cut with ease, Gambhir flicked away a number of deliveries directed at his pads. The openers though would be disappointed for failing to capitalize on their starts. Karthik edged one to the keeper when on 34 and Gambhir’s wild swing led to his downfall while on 41. India lost Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni in pursuit of the chase, but Kohli and Raina saw India through without much difficulty in dewy conditions.

Despite the loss, Bangladesh can take heart from their batting performance, their recovery being nothing short of sensational. The fightback began courtesy a century partnership between Shakib and Mahmudullah. Shakib, who was given a life when in the 30s, went on to punish the Indian bowlers severely.

He was especially severe on the spinners, slamming Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra for sixes over midwicket. It needed Ashish Nehra’s skill, a slower ball, to see the back of Shakib. At the other end, Mahmudullah continued with his merry ways.

He was severe on all the bowlers, be it the seamers or spinners. Naeem contributed a whirlwind 22 towards the end as Bangladesh took 95 from the final 10 overs. But, it still wasn’t good enough to overpower the Indians.

When India take on Sri Lanka in the tri-series game on Sunday, they would hope to push for a win and guarantee their place in the final. But things wouldn’t be all that easy in spite of their recent triumphs against Lanka. This is because Sri Lanka have been the best of the three teams in the tournament so far and their unbeaten record stands testimony to it. India, on the other hand, India have been horribly ragged, especially with the ball. Not that their batting performance has been especially great. In both the games they have been in deep trouble. If not for MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, they might well have ended up embarrassing themselves against Bangladesh after the loss to Sri Lanka.

Sadly, the toss has been a hugely influential factor in the series. And even the half-an-hour early start hasn’t it made much difference. In all the games, the team batting first has won and unless the trend changes, this tournament will end up being quite a farcical one. Having said that, Sri Lanka might try the experiment of bowling with the wet ball given a chance considering they are already through to the final. Ironically, it would also present India with their best chance of handing Lanka their first defeat of the tournament and securing their berth for the finals.

Whether they bat or bowl first, the fact remains that India’s bowling needs to show marked improvements. Zaheer Khan has been India’s bowling spearhead for a while now, but he certainly hasn’t been at his best since the start of the series against Lanka in India. Probably, he needs a break to recharge his batteries. It’s the opposite case with Ashish Nehra. Having made a strong comeback into the side and cementing has place as the second seamer, Nehra now has to prove his consistency. To be fair to the left-arm seamer, he hasn’t had the best of conditions to bowl. Still, a cricketer with his experience will be expected to do better. Harbhajan Singh’s inconsistency in recent times has been baffling, and a real cause for worry. One can’t predict what he will dish out on Sunday so better wait and watch.

Speaking of India’s batters, Kohli, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have been among the runs while Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina too have made useful contributions. One the one hand, India would want these men to continue firing and on the other hand will hope for the openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to explode in the manner we all know they can. That would solve a few problems for India.

Sri Lanka too would want their good batting form to continue. They would be boosted by the return of Tillakaratne Dilshan. Even in his absence, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene came up with the goods (read centuries), which is a great sign for the side. Their bowling effort has been commendable as well with Chanaka Welegedara being especially potent while spinner Suraj Randiv is improving with every game.
With two well-matched sides, one can only hope and pray that the toss doesn’t end up hampering either team once again.

India and Sri Lanka will lock horns once again, for a change in a tri-series also featuring Bangladesh. Lanka and Bangladesh will kick off the tournament at the Shere Bangla stadium in Mirpur.

While Sri Lanka have had a long and hard tour of India, Bangladesh will be fresh after a two-month break. Still, Lanka would be expected to go into the game as favourites.

This, despite the fact that they have dropped some of their seniors. Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis all will be missing from the absence in the Bangladesh, so it remains to be seen how they perform in the trio’s absence. They certainly were below par in India recently.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be buoyed by their 2009 record even though they were against weaker teams. But they were impressive nonetheless. The Bangladeshis will also have fond memories of their battle against the Lankans last year.

They defeated Lanka in a match and had them in dire straits in the final before they managed to recover. They will also have the home advantage so Lanka definitely cannot take them lightly anymore. The only factor that might go against the home side might be the fact they haven’t had an international outing for a while. And the Lankans must try and take advantage of that.

Sri Lanka would be hoping for the top-order to continue the great work they did in India. Tillakaratne Dilshan will be their trump card once again. However, one cannot ignore his batting partner Upul Tharanga either. The southpaw really came of age in India and will like to carry on the good form.

Ditto with skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who played some blinders in India. Unfortunately, the trio’s hard work was undone by the middle-order. And thus a lot better will be expected from the likes of Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby while Chamara Silva gets another opportunity to cement his place.

There have been some changes in the bowling department too. Spinning all-rounder Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and left-arm seamer Thilan Thushara will support Suraj Randiv and Chanaka Welagedera.

Bangladesh too have a good bunch of talent at their disposal. In the batting department, they no longer depend only on inconsistent Mohammad Ashraful. Tamim Iqbal, skipper Shakib Al Hasan and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim have all been making worthy contributions. That said, it will only help if Ashraful bats like an experienced hand.

Speaking of Bangladesh’s bowling, Rubel Hossain was undoubtedly one of the stars of the side last year and will be expected to continue the same in the New Year.

Among the others, spinner Abdur Razzak has been performing consistently for Bangladesh for a couple of seasons now, so they definitely don’t posses of the worst bowling attack in the world. Thus, one has got to believe that Lanka will be in for a tight contest despite being the pedigreed of the two sides.