Up in the clouds one day, down in the dumps the next

It was in 1985-86 that Duleep Mendis' Sri Lankans vanquished India by 149 runs at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo. The men from the Emerald Isle have had to wait 16 years for their second Test win against the Indians, but at the end of the day, Sanath Jayasuriya will agree that it was well worth the wait. Early on the morning of the fourth day, Jayasuriya climbed into a square cut off Zaheer Khan and took Sri Lanka to a 10-wicket triumph that will resound at the Dutch Fort at Galle for many years to come.

Coincidentally, the men doing the television commentary at the end of the game, Ranjan Madugalle and Ravi Shastri were both involved in Sri Lanka's first victory over the Indians. Shastri was quick to tell his counterpart that he has relegated that loss to the deepest recesses of his memory. Sourav Ganguly however, does not have the luxury of doing the same. If India are to put up a fight and perhaps level this three- Test series - let us not be premature in reflecting about victory - Ganguly must retrace India's steps in the first Test.

While one begins with the words that it is very difficult to see India bouncing back to win this series, one also writes off the Indians at his own peril. After all, the memories of the recent Australian tour of India must not be allowed to fade away so quickly. "We have been in situations such as this before and we got to fight our way back," said John Wright, a man who knew a fair bit about playing fighting cricket in his own time. The former New Zealand captain must have, in his almost one year long stint as Indian coach, discovered that the Indians are a rather seasick lot. Even in this age of supersonic flight, where a trip to Colombo takes as little as 50 minutes from Chennai, the Indians seem to get the jitters when they cross the seas and enter foreign lands.

What then can Ganguly and Wright do to salvage some badly hit Indian pride? Wright's mantra ever since he took over as coach, has been one of back to the basics. And yet, that is precisely where the Indians erred in the first Test.

On a wicket that looked like a green top, spun like a dusty track and bounced like something in between, the Indians faltered, floundered and finally surrendered. India began the Test in strange fashion, going in to lunch having scored a meagre 16 runs off 20 overs. Whose idea it was to curb a strokemaker like Sadagoppan Ramesh and make him bat tamely, one cannot say. That this was an error of judgment is certain. This very slow approach might have been justified if there was Sachin Tendulkar to follow. Alas, the little master's great toe has kept him off the field, though he says he is with the team in Lanka in spirit, if not in body. On a wicket where hours of plodding could easily be undone by one unplayable delivery, the Indians should have pushed for runs.

They didn't, Jayasuriya did, and the result is there for all to see.

The second glaring error in the Indian first essay cost the team the wicket of a potentially sensible cricketer. With less than three overs to be bowled on the first day, Mohammed Kaif was clean bowled by a charged up Dilhara Fernando. Bowling with a new ball, Fernando was at his most dangerous in fast deteriorating light. Ignoring all conventional wisdom, the Indian team sent out Hemang Badani instead of a nightwatchman. The Tamil Nadu southpaw was dismissed for six in as many balls and India were trapped on the back foot at 163/5. Just one day of the series gone and India were already cowering.

On the field, trying to make the most of a mediocre first innings total of 187, India displayed all the maturity of a school second XI team. Anyone who has watched Jayasuriya play knows that bowling short and wide to him is akin to signing your own death warrant. And yet the combined wisdom of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad were guilty of precisely this. With the senior pros setting such an example, how different could the inexperienced Zaheer Khan be? All along, Jayasuriya peppered the point fence with forceful cut shots, made a breezy ton and shut the door on India. "It makes things difficult for the captain when you've got the best square cutter in the middle and the bowlers keep on feeding him in his favourite area," said Wright, overstating the obvious.

And then there's the Murali factor. While Indian batsmen can come down the track to Warne, treat him like a club bowler and thrash him all around the park, why is it that the same batsmen are tied to the crease against the Lankan offie? "A lot of players in this squad with the exception of me and Rahul are facing him for the first time. So they've got no experience on how to handle him," reasons Ganguly. At the international level, can a captain afford to offer such excuses?

Ganguly thinks it's perfectly alright too. As long as that is the case, Indian cricket will remain as it is perfectly capable of sublime cricket in one game, and unapologetic, dismal stuff in the next.