Complaining that he couldn’t feel the power in his hands, Sachin Tendulkar did five free-hand bicep curls, changed his bat, and started hitting the ball all over the park from the nets on Tuesday. Still not entirely satisfied, he decided to give himself a break, winding down his session with some throw-downs from Robin Singh. At the other net, Virender Sehwag pulled his back, though not seriously, and asked Gautam Gambhir, hitting the ball as sweetly as ever, to replace him.

Together these three players can be intimidating for any opposition, especially with the ropes at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium pulled in. But Sri Lanka, too, have stuttered upon the new, fiery combination of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan, which has been paying them great dividends in these times of recession.

Low-scoring matches

The onus of resurrecting the image of this picturesque venue — surrounded by coconut trees, and with the Ibankatuwa lake quietly flowing alongside — rests on these five players at the head of the order. One-day totals have been disappointing in Dambulla even though the pitch has looked good for batting, with a notorious cross breeze and the early nip making the 22-yard strip difficult to score on.

And though a batch of 30 men meticulously arranged pieces of sponge over the playing surface before putting on the covers, the 10 am start will make it a fascinating battle between the bat and the new ball as cricket hopes to grab a few headlines in a country ravaged by civil war.

... contd.