Indians, powered by the big four, landed up in Sri Lanka after the debacle of the youth in the Asia cup final. The mission was to conquer Ajantha Mendis and Murali. Sri lanka wanted to show their supremacy at home. Game on. The first battle went to Sri Lanka when M&M annihilated the visitors. Round two to India as they galloped on Sehwag's fury to overcome the hosts. The finale has been won convincingly by Sri Lanka. The fab four have struggled barring for a odd contribution here and there. Ajantha Mendis has already made little boys in Sri Lanka and India bend their middle fingers. He has been finger-licking good. So has been Sri Lanka.
Hang on for quotes from post-match ceremony.
Kumble: It was important to get a good first-innings total but we faltered. The batters were not consistent throughout the series. They let us down. We had a chance to make up in the second innings but again we didn't score.Well played Sri Lanka. They deserve this victory. Mendis was the key bowler for SL, supported by Murali." Asked what is the one thing he would like to change this series, Kumble deadpans, "The result."
Man of the Match Sangakkara : "It was a case of getting as many runs as possible and stretch the lead. The innings was set up by Vaas and later supported later by Prasanna and Dammika. The special thing for me is the entry of the youngsters - Ajantha Mendis, Warnapura, Prasanna. I was bit lucky in the 40s, the key thing is to capitalize and go on to score runs. A hundred is a hundred but this was one of the tougher ones, especially considering how this series has gone.
Man-of-the-Series Ajantha Mendis. Sanga translates for him. "He didn't think too much and get confused. He just did what he knew. The basics. He got support from his team-mates and the crowd. He says that his family is extremely support of him and more importantly, he feels the whole of Sri Lanka supports him."
Arjuna Ranatunga gives him another trophy for taking the most number of wickets in a debut three-match series.
Mahela :"The guys showed lots of character especially after the Galle Test. Amazing effort. Sanga capped it off. We have been consistent in the last 2-3 years away from home as well. Our game is coming together. The younger players are taking responsibitly and the senior players pushed themselves. Murali still picked up 20 wickets and Vaas did very well. Both Murali and Mendis bowled very well and kept the pressure on the good Indian batting line up. we knew we wanted some extra pace and Dammika has a big heart. We have seen in the nets and that's what he did there. He didn't show much nerves. Excellent debut."
That's all from us. This is Sriram Veera, signing off on behalf of the scorers Binoy George and Srinivas Raju. Thanks for logging on. Good bye and good luck.
Ganguly to bowl. And he is very carefully setting his field. Will Mahela get his fifty?
END OF OVER:33 | 4 Runs | SL: 119/2
- Malinda Warnapura54 (99b)
- Mahela Jayawardene46 (84b)
- Virender Sehwag3-0-12-0
- Anil Kumble10-2-34-0
Selvam: "I think rather Kumble should "Review" his bowling and the Fab 4's position after this series. "
END OF OVER:32 | 10 Runs | SL: 115/2
- Mahela Jayawardene45 (82b)
- Malinda Warnapura51 (95b)
- Anil Kumble10-2-34-0
- Virender Sehwag2-0-8-0
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END OF OVER:31 | 7 Runs | SL: 105/2
- Malinda Warnapura50 (92b)
- Mahela Jayawardene40 (79b)
- Virender Sehwag2-0-8-0
- Anil Kumble9-2-28-0
Nilesh Fernando: "And there's also Vaas, who made more than the so-called 'Fab 4' combined in the first innings!"
END OF OVER:30 | 3 Runs | SL: 98/2
- Mahela Jayawardene35 (74b)
- Malinda Warnapura48 (91b)
- Anil Kumble9-2-28-0
- Harbhajan Singh14-2-44-1