Indelible impressions from rain-soaked Colombo Krishnamachari Srikkanth - 03 October 2002

It was most depressing to see the Champions Trophy final being washed out in the end. India and Sri Lanka might have ended up as joint winners as a result but that cannot keep me from feeling that India had a more than fair chance of emerging clear winners if the match had run its full course.

On Sunday, when they chased 245 runs to win and were 14-0 in the second over at the time that the rain came bucketing down, I reckoned that they had a very good chance of claiming victory. On Monday, the distinction between the two sides was even more clearly marked - after restricting the Sri Lankans to just 222, the Indians were always clear favourites to win the match and would have done so but for the rain.

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What was most impressive about the Indian performance in the two encounters was the way in which our bowlers fought back to restrict the Sri Lankans. Our spinners, in particular, proved highly effective. Harbhajan Singh exploited helpful conditions to the hilt while Virender Sehwag heralded his arrival as a genuine off-spinning option with a series of laudable performances with the ball. Sehwag's disciplined approach and his mastery over the stump-to-stump line reaped him rich awards in Sri Lanka and should continue to stand him and the Indian team in good stead over the coming years.

But the pick of the Indian bowlers was not either of them but Zaheer Khan. The left-arm quick from Baroda has come on by leaps and bounds in the last few months. His newfound ability to bring the ball back in at regular intervals has made him a more dangerous bowler. And to that he has added a large helping of discipline and oodles of confidence. With his searing yorkers also making a return, I think the young man has well and truly primed himself to take over the mantle of India's leading fast bowler in the years to come.

Moving on to our batting, I feel that it has now proved itself to be the finest in the world. From Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly down to Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, we have a dazzling list of match- winning batsmen. And it is not only on paper that they seem formidable, they have now learnt to perform with a welcome and heart- warming consistency on the field too.

Getting back to Sehwag, I felt he that he was without doubt the man of the tournament. There indeed seems to be something in the Sri Lankan air that spurs him on. Remember, it was in the Emerald Isles - the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo if one were to be exact - that he announced his arrival on the world stage with that unforgettable 70- ball hundred against the New Zealand almost an year ago.

His second visit to the island nation has turned him into a more mature and evolved cricketer - one who is not only a more organised aggressor as a batsman but also a bowler who can cope with pressure situations. I am certain that his confidence and his ability will ensure that the remains one of irresistible stars whom crowds around the world shall take to heart.

Before I end, I would like to contribute my mite to the debate on the wisdom of the sudden decision to replace an injured Ashish Nehra with Javagal Srinath. I for one felt that the team management showed undue haste when it came to summoning the experienced fast bowler back into the one-day team. What should have happened ideally was that Srinath should have been given time to prepare himself by being told that he could make his one-day comeback during the tour of New Zealand where the wickets and conditions would have suited him to a tee. This would in turn have helped him to make a serious and confident one-day return and not a farcical one as at Colombo where he played with little distinction in the first final before being rested in the second.

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