The ordinary turnout was understandable. But while there may not have been a lot left in the series, there was a lot of ‘left’ on display in this fifth and final ODI.

The Sri Lankan team has always been left-hander heavy, but for once, the ‘lefties’ in the Indian team almost outnumbered them after changes were made to the side for this match. Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan and Pragyan Ojha — all five of whom bat and bowl left-handed, turned out for the visitors along with left-arm seamers Zaheer Khan and RP Singh. The hosts had Sanath Jayasuriya, Malinda Warnapura, Mahela Udawatte, Kumar Sangakkara, Jehan Mubarak and Thilan Thushara in their XI. The first four Lankan batsmen at the crease were all left-handers. But even though the lefties scored 226 of the 330 runs on the day, in the end, it was the right-handed Nuwan Kulasekara who made all the difference.