But the young Indian one-day team have done their bit to wipe away those memories.

And while the series has been pocketed with the 3-1 scoreline, the temptation of making that 4-1 is very much on the minds of every member in the Indian dressing room. “There will be some celebrations,” said Suresh Raina, who was named Man of the Match for his solid 76 in India’s middle overs. “We always celebrate every win in style. But there’s one more match left in the series.”

The celebrations only included an impromptu jig from Irfan Pathan and soft drink cans being popped open as music blared through the window panes. There were also a fair number of happy handshakes and a few chest-thumps to go with it.

Later, they all went to a club where, fittingly, the DJ spun some Bollywood numbers.

Wednesday’s victory was a grand team effort with solid contributions from seven of the playing 11. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli played their part in putting up an impressive 258 on the board, while Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh shone under the lights with ball in hand.

Only twice did they look like not being in the driver’s seat. First when they frittered away a solid middle-over partnership by losing seven wickets for 34 to settle for 258, and then again when Sanath Jayasuriya went about scoring 60 off 52 balls to give the hosts a snappy start.

But Munaf Patel’s disciplined bowling gave him two early wickets to even Jayasuriya’s presence out. And when Harbhajan, in the 18th over, got the ball to spin viciously across Jayasuriya’s angled bat, and Suresh Raina completed a good diving catch at slip, it was the beginning of the end.

Mahela Jayawardene scored a watchful 16 from 40 deliveries, but was run out after a slight misunderstanding with Chamara Kapugedera to snuff out any hopes of a fightback. And though Thilan Thushara managed to delay the inevitable with a fiery 40 off 29 balls, India were never really threatened.

Earlier, opting to bat, it was Virat Kohli’s adventurous attitude that gave India an impetus. The makeshift opener toyed with Chaminda Vaas, mixing up disdainful flicks with gorgeous drives. He completed his first ODI half-century off 62 balls before falling to Thushara.

Dhoni played another captain’s knock — a superbly paced 71 off 80 balls —showing great resilience in his 125-minute stay. Raina carried on from where he’d left in his last innings and made a well-composed 78-ball 76, laced with six fours and a six. The duo added 143 runs for the fifth wicket.

Raina was especially severe on Muralitharan, slogging him over mid-wicket before stepping out to play inside-out for a boundary that got him his half-century off 56 balls. Dhoni, struggling with his back and mild cramps, had to employ a runner but managed to do more than just holding his end up.

Raina departed, holing out at long-off, while Jayasuriya held on to a reflex catch at covers to send Dhoni back. The rest caved in meekly and the Indian innings folded up with two balls still remaining.

But that little tumble didn’t really matter much as the hosts crumbled under sustained pressure. India’s first-ever series win in Lanka also meant a second-straight one-day series loss for Jayawardene — another one for the record books.