The street lights outside the Nondescripts Cricket Club ground were about to be switched on when the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI players gingerly changed their positions between overs, but the Indians batsmen were in a mood to squeeze out every bit of practice they could on the final day of the lone warm-up game before the first Test. With Gautam Gambhir and Sourav Ganguly — both missed a chance to spend time in the middle in the first innings — at the crease, fading light or mercy on the rivals wasn’t a pressing concern for the Indian team management.

After his two-ball stay on Saturday, Gambhir faced 82 more on Sunday to score 60. Ganguly faced 45 balls to take his tally of balls faced to 63. Both Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid played 57 balls each during the course of the match.

VVS, the odd one out

Sachin Tendulkar, who scored a 76-ball 69 on Saturday, had enough so he didn’t step out to bat on the final day. The only one to miss out was VVS Laxman, who after being out off the second ball on Saturday, didn’t get a chance to bat again.

India coach Gary Kirsten, though, said that there wasn’t much to be read from this game. He added that he would have liked Laxman to be on the pitch again. But for that to happen, they would have to install the floodlights as stumps were uprooted in this drawn encounter at 6.10 pm at Colombo.

... contd.