Dilhara Fernando, a young and enthusiastic hurler of thunderbolts, has grabbed much of the attention in this series but today belonged to one of the older footsoldiers. The promise shown by the likes of Fernando and Ruchira Perera has eased the burden on Chaminda Vaas's shoulders but his performance today showed that he could still be the spear's tip when he puts his mind and back into it. Vaas is now just a wicket short of the 150 mark, making him - by a distance - the second-greatest bowler that Sri Lanka has produced since it attained Test status. He had his share of problems today, especially with his run-up, but when he got it right, he was lethal. Das, Dravid and Dighe were all caught palpably in front of the stumps though in Das's case, there was an inner edge before the ball thudded into the pad. And it was a straight one that shattered Harbhajan's stumps as he threatened to reduce Sri Lanka's lead to nothing and turn into an allrounder in the process.

Vaas did nothing out of the ordinary. He kept the ball on a length and changed his pace cleverly to keep the batsmen guessing. Fernando, who was taken apart ruthlessly by Harbhajan and Dighe after tea, would have done well to observe his senior partner. On pitches such as these, merely banging it in short and hoping isn't the best option.

Not that Vaas was the day's only hero. Harbhajan's slap-and-slash 44 was the day's highlight, combining as it did fairly orthodox drives and cuts with the agricultural scythe over midwicket. His partnership with Dighe was the only defiant note in a limp Indian batting display. At their first sight of the bully, the big boys ran. The brave little one stood his ground, picked up a stone and hit the bully flush on the nose. If the big boys don't feel a hint of shame this evening, you can only credit them with a crocodile skin. Seven of the batsmen got starts but none made it past fifty. Faulty temperament, anyone?

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden Online in India.

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