With both sides possessing strong batting line-ups and moderate bowling attacks, one would have expected the pitches to be sporty enough to allow the chance of a winning result. However, it was not to be the case, because the pitches too tended to support the strong point of both teams - batting.
As a result, bowlers had no chance whatsoever of turning the tide in their favour, and the outcome was two tame draws, which wouldn't have helped the cause of Test cricket at all.
The drawn result left Sri Lanka without a single victory in eight Tests for this year as against three defeats (New Zealand 2, West Indies 1) and five draws (Pakistan 2, West Indies 1, India 2). They have a three-Test series coming up in November/December in India to break their barren run.
What good does it do a cricket nation, if they keep on breaking records, but cannot produce a winning result?
Australia are the best Test playing nation in the world because they have proved, they are capable of winning Test matches not only at home, but equally, abroad.
Breaking or setting up new records can be accepted in the context of the team winning, but not for the sole purpose of setting up records.
The series proved that Sri Lankan now had durable batsmen capable of batting for long hours in the middle with unflagging concentration.
No one exemplified it unpretentiously than the indomitable left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya.
His 799 minutes of unwavering concentration for 340 runs on the dead as-a-dodo R. Premadasa Stadium pitch, proved that Sri Lankan batting had come a long way since the halcyon days when scoring runs at a rapid pace even at Test level was the order of the day.
The score, apart from being the fourth highest in Test cricket, was also the highest-ever made in Sri Lanka in a first-class match beating the 285 scored by Frank Worrell for Commonwealth v Ceylon at the Sara Stadium in 1950-51.
What Jayasuriya proved with his great powers of concentration was that given the pitch and the conditions, he is capable of dominating the bowlers as he so often does in the abbreviated game.
That Jayasuriya consumed 1282 minutes out of a total time of 2057 minutes taken by Sri Lanka for the entire series proves how much he dominated the Indian bowling.
Jayasuriya not only put the Indian bowlers to the sword in the first Test, but followed it up with an equally impressive knock of 199 to top the batting for the series with a Bradman-like average of 190.33.
Jayasuriya's phenomenal run carried him past the 1,000-run mark making him the first batsman in the world to pass that figure in the calendar year of 1997 (see separate table).
Vice-captain Aravinda de Silva came within seven runs of emulating Jayasuriya (see table). He will however get the opportunity to do so in the forthcoming Test series in India.
De Silva maintained his remarkable consistency on home soil by scoring three consecutive centuries to the three he scored against Pakistan in April, to average over a hundred in the series.
For sometime Roshan Mahanama's Test career had been on the line due to inconsistent performances, largely due to him not being given a permanent place in the batting order. Asked to fill the vital no. 3 slot left vacant by Asanka Gurusinha, Mahanama finally came good with a career best double century which would probably seal his place in the side for the next couple of years.
Mahanama and Jayasuriya rewrote the record books when they shared in a massive second wicket partnership of 576 at the R. Premadasa Stadium which turned out to be the highest for any wicket in Test cricket.
That mammoth partnership enabled Sri Lanka to make the highest total in Test cricket - 952 for 6 wickets, which is also the highest-ever made in a first-class match in Sri Lanka improving on the 549 for 8 declared by West Indies v Ceylon at the Sara Stadium in 1966-67.
With the flowing of the tide, Sri Lanka are gradually displacing some of the great names in the century-old game.
The winning of the World Cup in March 1996 brought about a remarkable transformation in the attitude of the team in the one-day games. Now it seems it is gradually spreading into the longer game as well. Time will tell whether they can turn the results into winning ones like they do so often do in the overs-limit game.
India could consider itself lucky, because, though out-batted by the Sri Lankans, they still managed to save the Test series.
Although their bowlers were pulverized without mercy, the batsmen managed to keep some of their pride especially two of the most experienced in the side, skipper Sachin Tendulkar and former captain Mohammad Azharuddin. Both batsmen almost matched the Sri Lankans in the batting averages, with Saurav Ganguly and Navjot Sidhu some distance away.
Tendulkar and Azharuddin each scored two centuries apiece in the series. For Azharuddin, it was a welcome return to form after being unceremoniously dumped for India's Independence Cup tournament. The elegant right-hander has replied the Indian selectors in the best possible manner by letting his bat do the talking.
Since his arrival in Sri Lanka, Azharuddin has been in great form scoring 441 runs (avg. 147.00) in the Asia Cup and Test series. At 34, with his troubled family life and the unfaithfulness of the selectors, firmly behind him, he is enjoying his cricket greatly. It has reflected in the confidence with which he strides onto the field, and the manner in which he bats.
Tendulkar has not let the burden of captaincy affect his batting. The saying that a captain is only good as his team, goes well with Tendulkar, who has been saddled with a bowling attack that will not be capable of bowling many sides out at Test level.
India's biggest drawback on the tour has been the failure of their two key bowlers Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble to deliver the goods.
A young man of Tendulkar's age (he is only 24 years) needs a lot of guidance from the team management. One doubts whether that has been forthcoming from the present team.
There has been times when Tendulkar seemed lost for advice and he was not getting any from his deputy Kumble nor the former captain Azharuddin, whose inclusion in the team has upset him.
Tendulkar and Azharuddin it seems have a love-hate relationship. There is a school of thought that Tendulkar should be taken off the captaincy and allowed to bat without any pressure. The next question then would be: Who should lead India? Giving it back to Azharuddin would mean turning the clock backwards.
With India's present bowling line-up, whoever takes over the leadership would be saddled with the same problems as Tendulkar. It would be wiser therefore as the saying goes, to let sleeping dogs lie.
What Indian cricket is missing today is the wisdom of Ajith Wadekar, a former captain and coach, whose fatherly advise would have been like a soothing balm for all their ailments.