The same cannot however be said of the senior most member of his team namely Sachin Tendulkar, the master blaster. Sachin feels he has plenty of cricket left in him, no one doubts that – only, having acquired a huge international reputation, he should not see the slide when in the saddle. It does not look good when he returns to the pavilion, a dejected man, after being bamboozled by one of the new opposition bowlers. He was out for only 5 runs in the fourth over of the day – LBW to Thushara. Sachin has to admit that his reflexes are not as sharp as they used to be five years back. He should seriously consider the unreliability that has crept in with his contributions with the bat. If he were a selector and if one of his players was losing his standard, would he have continued with him? It is a cause for worry when the youngsters win the game on their own without any perceptible contribution from the senior most member.

On the other hand, the game of the other senior most member in the opposition camp, Sanath Jayasurya was a treat to watch. He is nearly forty years old and, with this his 28th ODI century, has found a place among the world’s most aged centurions in the company of Geoff Boycott. He has also crossed the 13,000 run mark and is in the company of another cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar. Sanath rightly walked away with the Man of the Match award.

Dhoni has set his sights on a whitewash and time only will tell whether he achieves that distinction and sees India climb to the 2nd spot in the ICC rankings.