The permutations can wait awhile longer. India's fates still rest in their own hands, though at the moment they are a distant third in this tournament. We'll be back for the fun on Sunday. Before you leave, here is the match report by Brydon Coverdale. We'll soon have a lot more analysis and comment from the game up on the site. On behalf of the gang, this is Nitin Sundar signing out. Cheers!
"The first task for India is to somehow win the toss and bat first for a change, that may change the fortunes as well." Prasanna are you saying Sehwag should replace Dhoni as captain?
Presentations.
Mahela is the Man of the Match: "I probably got more of the strike than Dilly, and it was one of those days when most of your shots went to the gaps. One side of the ground is smaller, so it was a tough ground to defend on. The youngsters are learning a lot from these games. We are top of the table, but we still need to do a lot of hard work."
Clarke: "Unfortunately we couldn't get over the line, but full credit to Sri Lanka. Our execution with the ball wasn't good. The top four could do better. SL showed tonight that if you hang in, you can take it home. I am still a bit stiff in the back, but I will be fine. Big game for us against India in Sydney."
Mahela showed the way, but the youngsters followed it to do it for Sri Lanka. There is after all a way for old and young to combine and bring home the results in ODI cricket. Are India watching?
The points table begins to look very interesting now. All three teams have two games to go. And all of them (including India) have a chance to make the finals. India will need to win both games to make the final. If they do pull that off (though their current form suggests it would be a tall order), SL and Aus will be fighting for the other spot in the final when they meet.
For now though, Sri Lanka are the class of the field. They seem to have just the sort of combination to click in these conditions. Most importantly, they have three high-quality fast bowling allrounders.