Jayawardene the comeback kid

The resurrection of a dormant one-day career ensured that there would be no revival in India's flagging one-day fortunes, as Sri Lanka once again illustrated why they are second only to Australia when it comes to mastery of the one-day game. Mahela Jayawardene had averaged an abysmal 22.64 in 18 ODI outings since an unbeaten 58 against India in the Asia Cup last July - at Dambulla, for good measure - but with defeat a near-formality at 95 for 6, he tapped into his reservoir of talent to come up with the sort of sparkling strokeplay that once saw him anointed as successor to the inimitable Aravinda de Silva.

In normal circumstances, a look at the scoreboard would suggest that India had gifted away this game, rather than Sri Lanka wrenching it from their clutches. But to suggest so would be to overlook the verve and conviction with which Jayawardene and Upul Chandana ultimately sauntered across what had appeared a bridge too far. As poorly as India bowled between overs 30 and 40 when 67 runs were added, the downfall was triggered by inventive strokeplay and aggressive running on a pitch that suddenly lost any trace of sting.

Much of the credit has to go to Chandana, the wily and much under-rated veteran of 136 matches who nursed Jayawardene through a mid-innings trough. Having seen off the persistent threat posed by Ashish Nehra, the Sri Lankans then feasted on some indifferent bowling from Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh, with Harbhajan's cause not aided in any way by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's shoddy work behind the stumps.

Nehra had bowled a superb spell, not striving for too much pace and slanting the ball just enough to torment both left and right-hander alike. But once he finished his quota, what followed was a succession of overs where the bowling was both sides of the wicket, allowing the batsmen to make a mockery of the attacking fields that Rahul Dravid had set. Chandana set the tone by working the ball nonchalantly through the gaps, and once Jayawardene regained his poise, the inner cordon was pierced with an ease that must have been a dagger to the Indian captain's heart.

Almost four years ago, Jayawardene signed off in a one-day triangular featuring West Indies and Zimbabwe with scores of 96, 106 not out and 63. He hasn't scored a century since, and his average - a respectable 33.2 at the time - had dropped to below 30 before this match. The primal scream of delight when the winning runs were scampered illustrated just how much this meant to a man who has been utterly eclipsed by his top-order team-mates in recent times.

For another man on the renaissance path, Sourav Ganguly, there was the consolation of becoming only the third man to 10,000 runs, and a half-century against top-notch opposition after nearly a year. But while he occasionally timed the ball with the silken fluency of old, Ganguly was part of the problem as India produced another insipid batting effort, redeemed only by the clean hitting of Irfan Pathan.

Between them, Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman played out 123 dot balls, of the 192 they faced. There were only 55 singles and, staggeringly, 37 of the no-scores came against the bowling of Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran, a debutant whose medium-pace could best be described as tidy. Sehwag finished with 32, but after one pleasing cover-drive first up, many of the remaining runs came via the inner or outer edge as he flailed with the sort of desperation that you would expect from someone with Muttiah Muralitharan's batting skill.

Like Michael Slater, another opener who could bat at a one-day clip in a Test match, Sehwag appears to be confused about how best to employ his dazzling talent in a one-day game. In 92 matches as an opener, he averages 35.32, with 38 scores below 20. Contrast that with the old firm of Tendulkar (an average of 48.82 from 238 matches opening) and Ganguly (7870 runs at 42.08 from 200 games) and you begin to realise why India have struggled in recent times.

Just as worrying to Greg Chappell will be the frailty against the turning ball. Even with Sri Lanka missing Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, India never looked remotely like getting 250, and the batsmen made Tillakaratne Dilshan's loopy offspin appear as lethal as that sent down by Murali or Erapalli Prasanna. It must surely rankle the old-timers that the most authoritative knocks against spin in recent times have all been authored by outsiders in baggy green - Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke.

When Chappell took over, the talk was of whether India would need a bowling coach to help him along. But for a problem with the fifth bowler - surely both Anil Kumble and Jai Prakash Yadav will come into contention in Colombo - that has been the least of his worries, with the pace bowlers delivering some excellent spells. Instead, three matches into this tournament, the sense of irony won't be lost on those who have seen a team coached by a batting legend play like novices.