It took Venkatesh Prasad to play his longest Test innings to clip India's margin of humiliation from an innings down to ten wickets. For India, it was the best news of the last three days, because at least it represented the faintest glimmer of a fight. For all that, the innings defeat wiouldn't have been averted if Steve Bucknor had raised the finger when Sanath Jayasuriya made two confident appeals a few overs earlier. Javagal Srinath lounged in the dressing-room with a swollen right hand but without a hint of padding up. What did it matter? India were going to lose anyway. In many ways, it was symbolic of India's surrender. Malcolm Marshall pottered about with a fractured left hand to help Larry Gomes get a hundred at Headingley in 1984. And then he went out and took 7 for 53. Jeff Thomson played his first Test with a broken toe, just to be able to represent Australia. Sometimes, being able to lift a deflated dressing-room can be worth more than mere wickets and runs.

Most criticism of India, particularly the top six, is entirely warranted. A popular tabloid even published front-page mugshots of the eleven with the headline "Worst team in the world?" But India did not do it all by themselves.

It required Sanath Jayasuriya to take breathtaking, unforgiving toll of their ordinary bowling. It took Kumara Sangakkara to graft in such remarkable contrast to his natural game. It took Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan – each blessed with a rare ability – to find the discipline that gave their weapons a sharp edge.

Someone in the Wisden office referred to this Sri Lankan team as the Brazil of world cricket. It may not be entirely true – gloriously gifted as they may be, they cannot match Australia (and sometimes Pakistan) for unabashed attacking flair, and unlike the Brazil of today, Sri Lanka actually win – but broadly, the comparison holds.

They seem so overwhelmed with joy when playing, let alone thrashing opponents. Theirs is the beach-cricket allure of the West Indies in the past. Every man is capable of hitting over the top, making full-length diving catches, bringing off unlikely direct hits.

Most of all, they seem to be brimming with positive energy these days. It's not that long since Arjuna Ranatunga led Sri Lanka to six straight draws against India. Murali was just about his only form of attack back in 1997, but Ranatunga would often instruct his men to bowl outside leg stump to a 6-3 field. Sometimes, as in the match when Sri Lanka made the world-record total of 952, Ranatunga saw no merit in letting the game proceed beyond the second innings. To the benefit of Sri Lankan cricket – world cricket too – that's all changed now.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer for Wisden Online India

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