The Great Game Called Cricket...

At some stage, in an increasingly distant future, teams will learn to make proper use of the batting Powerplay. At the very least, they will figure out a way to take 30 runs without losing a bagful of wickets in that treacherous five-over block. In Adelaide, Sri Lanka's batsmen became the latest to find themselves on the wrong side of the double-edged sword. Dinesh Chandimal had batted with flair, and added a menacing 94 runs off 100 balls with Mahela Jayawardene. The pair had weathered early losses in consummate style, and set Sri Lanka up for the big surge. The Powerplay had other plans, though.

Sri Lanka stumbled from a heady 168 for 3 in 35 overs, losing 18 for 3 in the next five overs, including the two set batsmen. The complexion of the game changed so drastically that R Ashwin bowled with two slips in the 40th over, when he got Thisara Perera to miscue a loft.

Sri Lanka had turned the momentum their way admirably in the lead-up to the Powerplay. Chandimal was at the forefront once again, imposing himself with a series of pulls and whips through the leg side, imparted with a flourish that was once the trademark of Marvan Atapattu. Chandimal's technique was adept for the conditions, as he used soft hands and decisive feet to milk India's attack.

Jayawardene, too, suggested he was finally ready to shrug away the poor form that has dogged him since the South Africa tour. Everything seemed well with the world when he skipped out and carved Ravindra Jadeja inside out over the covers for four. Chandimal ushered in the Powerplay by leaping out and depositing Jadeja over the midwicket boundary in the 35th over. The innings went pear-shaped from that point, though.

Vinay Kumar dismissed Jayawardene with an indipper, which meant Sri Lanka were suddenly down to their last recognised pair. The nerves showed: Chandimal escaped while attempting a risky second run, when MS Dhoni backed away from collecting a throw from fine-leg. Two balls later, the opportunity came again, and this time Dhoni stepped up to break the bails in good time. Ashwin then invited a slog from Thisara that spiralled straight to mid-off. Sachithra Senanayake slogged hard in the end overs to lift Sri Lanka to 236 for 9, but they seemed to be at least 20 runs short.

India made three crucial early strikes, which meant they were only one wicket away from the lower order even when Chandimal and Jayawardene were in full flow. Vinay made the first impression, preying on Upul Tharanga's unending trouble outside the off stump, consigning him to his 13th ODI duck, and fifth against India.

Irfan Pathan then took over, his career having come full circle since his international debut at the same venue eight years ago. After a considerable time spent in the wilderness, much against the wishes of his clamorous legions of fans, Irfan returned with a remodelled action and improved fitness levels, to suggest he just might turn the clock back. He got promising shape going away from the left-handers right from the outset. Tillakaratne Dilshan looked intent to stonewall his way through the new balls unless he was given gifts. Irfan, however, managed to tempt him into a hard-handed thrash through the off side, but the ball slanted in to take the inner edge through to MS Dhoni.

Ashwin continued to have a series of two parts: clueless and meek against Australia, as opposed to attacking and confident against Sri Lanka. He tussled with Sangakkara and pinned him with the good old three-card trick. The first ball drifted in with the arm to nearly have Sangakkara lbw, and the next one landed on a length, spun and bounced deviously to beat the outside edge. Sangakkara was out of his crease next ball, anxious to negate the turn, but Ashwin beat him in the flight to induce a leading edge. That set the stage for Jayawardene to rebuild the innings, but the final Powerplay allowed India to alter the script.

The best death-overs bowler in the game went face-to-face against the best finisher in the business with four to defend off the last ball. It was only fair that neither Lasith Malinga nor MS Dhoni ended up on the losing side of that contest. Malinga's wide full-length ball would have hoodwinked most batsmen who would have been setting themselves up for the swing to the leg side. Not the fleet-footed Dhoni, though, who calmly stretched across and carved high over the covers even as he balanced on one foot. The ball didn't have the strength to beat Sachinthra Senanayake on the boundary, but Dhoni and last-man Umesh Yadav pranced through for three runs to tie a nerve-wracking classic at the Adelaide Oval.

The beauty of the ODI format shone throughout the duration of the chase, with the best minds in the game feeling the pressure of a close finish. India were coasting on the back of another polished effort from Gautam Gambhir, whose faultless 91 showed he has moved on from his Test-match woes. Dhoni had added 60 runs with Gambhir off 12.4 overs, leaving India needing 59 off 58. At that stage, Dhoni made the first decisive error, when he called Gambhir through for a tight single before sending him back. Gambhir was caught short by a direct hit from Nuwan Kulasekara. Gambhir's fall gave Sri Lanka an opening; Dhoni would later say it cost India the win.

India's rotation policy was bound to come under scrutiny, as Gautam Gambhir was left to anchor another tricky chase after the cheap dismissals of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. All three batsmen got off to starts, before curiously falling on the same score - 15. Gambhir buckled down for a fifty, and looked good to go one better than the 92 he made against Australia.

Tendulkar wasn't at his best and it is debatable whether the break for Sunday's game did his fluency any good. Gambhir continued to build on the assurance he displayed in that match, but should sit out of the next game if India stick to their policy of musical chairs for the openers - a decision that would be contingent on Virender Sehwag's fitness. After another failure, Rohit, too, must be feeling the pressure of being singled out as the reason behind the unnatural rotation.

India's chase began sedately, with the first couple of boundaries coming when the Sri Lankan seamers strayed onto Tendulkar's pads. Nuwan Kulasekara dismissed Tendulkar in his third over, getting a length ball to angle into the worrying line outside off stump. Tendulkar went for the drive, but nicked it through to Kumar Sangakkara.

Kohli's short innings, like his effort against Australia over the weekend, was a throwback to Rahul Dravid in the early stages of his career. He defended with assurance, and drove decisively, but too often straight to the fielders. When he gets in, Kohli has the range of strokes to make up for a slow start, but today he perished early, lbw trying to work Thisara Perera across the line.

Gambhir batted through it all, seemingly in a different plane, his Test match woes well behind him. He didn't score his first four until the ninth over, when he stepped out to carve Angelo Mathews through the covers, but was in complete control despite the early lack of boundaries. Sri Lanka fed him with a series of deliveries on the pads, and Gambhir routinely worked them through square leg for runs. His only moment of madness came between the wickets, when he took on Mahela Jayawardene's arm with a push to mid-off, but the throw missed by inches.

The next time Jayawardene got a chance, though, he threw down the stumps, with Rohit caught short attempting a quick single. Earlier, Rohit had creamed a couple of peachy cover drives against pace and spin - strokes that reinforced that he belonged in the XI, and didn't need favours from the team management. Runs under the belt would surely help his cause, though.