Since Virender Sehwag wasn’t on the field most of the day, he walked to the boundary in his training gear to receive his triumphant team mates armed with stump mementoes. After getting repeated bear hugs from them, Sehwag seemed like an athlete at the finish line who was responsible for giving his team the winning lead by running more than his share of laps in a relay race.

And in the bigger context of the series, Sehwag’s sprint marathon means India, who seemed miles away from Sri Lanka after the first Test, now have the pace and rhythm as they brush shoulders with their subdued rivals. With India winning the Galle Test by 170 runs in just four days and squaring the three-match series, the two teams will now head to Colombo for the decider. And with the SAARC leaders dispersed, the Lankan capital can now feast on a summit clash featuring several cricketing greats.

The fact that the result happens to be three-figure run difference and the Test getting over with a day to spare might hint at a lop-sided contest, but that’s far from reality. Several times in the game the Lankans had an upper hand, but the Indians were never really pinned down. The final day’s play gave ample evidence of the Indians making a habit of breaking the shackles and taking setbacks in their stride. After losing six wickets in a little more than an hour this morning, the Indians bounced back and skittled out the hosts with more than 60 minutes of play left in the day.

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