Two interesting themes have emerged out of the first couple of matches. What is obvious is that Sri Lanka has slipped to a new level of incompetence and India is on the rise. Secondly, it is rather disturbing to note the failure of the seniors in the touring party to provide leadership.

Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan are our favourite sons. A few failures can't erase their reputations. They now have to dig their heels deep to ensure the team is not hard-hit if another week of similar intensity is going to rock the boat.

A few things have been beyond control. Jayasuriya might be a little out of touch; his injury hasn't allowed him to be his ebullient self. But the fact is that he alone is answerable if he is now a foot slower or if his reflexes and eyesight are not what they used to be.

Murali has been confronted by a real quality batsman in Sachin Tendulkar after a long time and if there are only hundred-odd runs to defend, it restricts even his options. Mahela Jayawardene had to attend to his wedding and I don't blame him either for it was arranged before the present schedule was announced.

What I am concerned about is the collective batting failure. It is the batsmen who win you games in the sub-continent. I also don't approve of Kumara Sangakkara as an opener. The opening combination was duly tinkered with but he wasn't the man to be sent up the order.

When everyone is gripped with the virus of failure, you don't put all your worries at the doorstep of your best man. Every individual has to pull his own weight. Upul Tharanga needs to be brought out of the closet as an opener.

Don't blame the pitch

I also wouldn't accept the pitch being held responsible for our batting mishaps. The one at Mohali was perfect, backed with a lightning quick outfield. I certainly didn't see it as one where ball was holding up.

Even at Nagpur, one has to revisit the match again to see if spinners really had that huge an assistance in the second half of the day. I mean, when the spinning duo of Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag took successive wickets, it was only the 10th and 11th over of the innings and the ball was still new!

It is easy to overreact to such terrible reverses and I hope no such thing is happening in the Sri Lankan dressing room. There is nothing wrong with the quality of these batsmen. Most who go out of form suffer because they start believing their best has deserted them.

Being uptight will never be a solution; it actually adds to the problem. Sometimes being relaxed is the best option.

The best process is to attend to the basics — watch the ball closely as it leaves the bowler's hands and trust your ability, which has brought you thus far. If it is a technical issue, help is available from the support staff.

Lead by example

The best man to convey the message is the captain. Actually, Atapattu could cite from his own instance. When he began his career in India, years ago, he was a doddering wreck where even scoring the first run was a matter of celebration.

Amidst cries for his head, we believed in his ability but more importantly, he believed in himself. He soon turned the corner and a string of centuries and double centuries flowed.

That message still has relevance. I have a massive regard for his ability and intelligence. We in Sri Lanka are actually in the process of appointing him as long-term captain till the 2007 World Cup.

It's a complete contrast with the Indians. Their batsmen are raking up massive totals and bowlers are dismissing the opponents for less than 200. I am sure Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan have much to do with this revival as their efforts in the first two games show.

Pathan deserves a closer look as a world-class all-rounder in the making. Even though he and his captain Rahul Dravid wouldn't like this extra weight of expectations on his shoulders, it is an inescapable offshoot of good performance.

As for Tendulkar, he has risen above modern-day mediocrity with his sublime genius. Men like him inspire a generation of youngsters to pick up the game. — PTI

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