Australia
 India
 Sri Lanka

 Series
 Aust v India
 Aust v SL
 India v SL
 One-Day Int'l

 Colombo (RPS)
 Colombo (SSC)
 Galle

INDIA WINS; SRI LANKA QUALIFIES; AND CONFUSION REIGNS IN THE COLOMBO RAIN

On a day when the inability of the sport's administrators to find a completely comprehensive solution to one-day international cricket's most enduring problem - namely, how to deal with weather interruptions - again loomed large on the horizon, India has defeated Sri Lanka by the margin of 23 runs in the final preliminary match of the 1999 Aiwa Cup at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo today.  But, while India has taken the two points, it is Sri Lanka which has claimed a berth in the tournament's Final in two days' time courtesy of a superb fightback with the bat after their bowlers had been mercilessly plundered earlier in the day.

For as entertaining as the play itself proved, however, this match took a peculiar course following an afternoon rain interruption and became affected almost as much by some bizarre actions from officialdom as by the sterling efforts throughout the day by some of the sport's most exciting batsmen.  After a fifty minute rain delay five overs into the Sri Lankan innings appeared to many observers to have handed the Sri Lankans second place on the Cup table (on account of rules recently revised by the International Cricket Council in the event of the application of the Duckworth/Lewis method of settling rain-affected contests), the equation seemed to change more than once as two rookie umpires, the match referee and the players attempted to fathom precisely how the interruption had altered the complexion of the game and each of the teams' prospects of continuing on in the tournament.  In almost farcical scenes, play even stopped for several minutes at the start of the thirteenth over as the players and umpires attempted to clear up the confusion; the Indians' tempers understandably appearing to reach something nigh on boiling point as it seemed that they were informed by Umpires Gamina Silva and EKG Wijewardena of yet another change to the conditions.

After the revised and re-revised targets had been set, the Sri Lankan batsmen did what they had to do to reach the Final, batting sufficiently belligerently to ensure that they were able to reach the requisite mark of 232 (and remain ahead of their opponents on net run rate) from the third ball of the fortieth over.  Sanath Jayasuriya (71 off 53 balls) again recaptured some of his brilliant best, playing some outrageous strokes especially against Venkatesh Prasad - as he slammed his team to a position from which it was always likely to ensure qualification for the Final.  Marvan Atapattu (55) and Mahela Jayawardene (who ultimately finished on 62) played superbly through the middle stages to build on their captain's foundations, the latter also joining effectively with Russel Arnold (19) at the end to dispense with any lingering suggestion that their place alongside Australia on Tuesday may have been in doubt.

Led by the emphatic return to form of captain Sachin Tendulkar (120) and the almost equally mercurial Saurav Ganguly (85), it had been the Indians who had appeared best placed to make the Final by the halfway mark with their compilation of the imposing score of 4/296.  Although Tendulkar (120) had to overcome a few moments of anxiety today (not the least of them coming with his score at 99 as substantial scrutiny of TV replays was made by the third umpire to decide whether he had beaten paceman Suresh Perera's return throw, which ultimately ricocheted to the fine leg boundary, to the batting crease), his twenty-third one day international century was richly deserved.   And even though it must also be conceded that he appeared extremely fortunate to survive a leg before wicket appeal from Chaminda Vaas when his score was only 2, there can be little denying that this was an innings of typically high quality.  Initially, the elegant right hander chose to score most of his runs square of the wicket but, as the innings wore on, so his placement became more complete; his cover driving and late cutting especially impressive.  And, even though he did appear to be suffering increasing pain in his back (he even doubled over after thumping one lofted straight drive) the further his exhibition progressed, the signs in his spectacular return to his best were almost all good for his team and its followers.

With the maestro masterfully controlling the tempo of the innings until his eventual departure in the forty-fifth over, the Indians accordingly maintained the upper hand for the vast majority of the pre-lunch session.  And, even after the Sri Lankans fought back spiritedly from early lethargy for a time through the agency of spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Upul Chandana during the middle stages of the innings, India's dominance proved even more emphatic at the end than it had been at the beginning.  Not for the first time in his career, the spectacular late acceleration was chiefly due to Ganguly (85), whose arrogance and skill in hoisting deliveries powerfully over the infield with regularity evoked memories of his celebrated 183 against the same opponent at Taunton little more than three months ago.  Indeed, the fact that the Sri Lankans were only able to remove him when he slightly misplayed another heave over mid wicket and was caught only inches inside the deep mid wicket rope said much about the extent of their inability to put the ball past his bat.

Whilst one should not lose sight of the fact that they were beaten today, it does need to be said that the Sri Lankans deserved the chance to meet Australia as a result of their efforts today and in their preceding matches.   Contrary to many of the theories which were propounded both during and in the immediate aftermath of the 1999 World Cup that Sri Lankan cricket was in the midst of a disastrous downward spiral, the home team has indeed performed admirably in this series.  The reinvigoration of Jayasuriya's own game, and the expertise with which he and his teammates have lifted themselves in the wake of former long-time captain Arjuna Ranatunga's departure, has been especially impressive and it will be fascinating to see if they can convert these traits into tournament triumph on Tuesday.

Having only recently experienced the bitter taste of elimination at the Super Six stage of the World Cup, meanwhile, it has not been an especially good year for the Indians in one-day international cricket.  And, in this tournament, what perhaps made their performance even more difficult to accept was that even the two players who had stood so tall for them in the world's premier one day international tournament (Ganguly and Dravid) had less than exceptional campaigns.  Throughout this series, the Indians collectively again looked tentative - their inability to take opposition wickets at opportune times compounded by the shakiness of their normally dependable top order batting through their first three games and some sloppy fielding for the duration of the tournament.  Nevertheless, their last game was clearly their best and, despite being robbed of the chance to play in the Final, that notion in itself may represent the glimmer of positive news they need to begin to reinvent their approach.