India in SL

The Big Four have had an unusually torrid time in Sri Lanka so far but the time is now set for them to blaze their blades.

While Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman abd Rahul Dravid showed glimpses of their brilliance before succumbing to sustained pressure from Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, Sourav Ganguly has been struggling to even put bat to ball.

India did a great job in Galle, demolishing Sri Lanka by 170 runs. However, it would be only fair to reflect on the fact that this victory was a three man affair, namely Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.

The Big Four in the team have not yet come to terms with the M&M factor and with the decider due from Friday, it would be up to these guys to set the cat rolling amongst the Lankan pigeons.

Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman arrived on the Lankan shores with a huge reputation of being the best weapons against spin but two of them Dravid and Ganguly have looked absolutely patchy against the guile of both Murali and Mendis. Laxman, the lone half centurion among these master batsmen has also been found flummoxed against the Flicker of Mendis which moves away from the right hander.

Tendulkar set the Australian shores on fire at the dawn of 2008, when he rattled off 493 runs against a furiously hostile home attack. He blasted two centuries and two half centuries as he punded an average of 70 runs from eight innings.

Ganguly and Dravid looked patchy in Australia as well apart from the two half centuries each of them managed. But their averages of 29.38 and 33.86 respectively were abyssmal.

Laxman was almost at his best Down Under, scoring 366 runs at 45.75. His essays included a sparkiling 109 and a couple of half centuries.

India's next Test series against South Africa saw Tendulkar sit out the last two matches after an old century resurfaced. Dravid struggled throughout, though he scored a painfully garnered 111 in the first match in Chennai.

Ganguly looked like the only saviour, carving two important half centuries at critical conditions. The southpaw avereaged an impressive 52.75. Laxman was no where near his very very special zone, stitching a highest of 50 and averaging a mere 31.75 through the series.

Tendulkar, perhaps has been the only one amongs the Indian batting might, apart from the openers, who has looked like being in control. The master got off to a couple of sweet starts and his 31 in India's second innings in Galle was fraught with danger for the Lankan attack before the guile of Chaminda Vaas did him in.

Tendulkar has not been too perturbed by the spinners as well. He has looked to attack the Lankan spinners which is the best way out as shown by Viru and Gautam Gambhir.

Maybe Tendulkar has not been struggling with his technique but his inability to counter Vaas's traps have set few eyeballs rolling. A look back at history , though gives hope. Tendulkar has hardly gone without .

Ganguly though, it seems is terribly out of touch. The man who was known for dancing down the track and hitting spinners out of the ground is looking totally out of sorts against the Lankan duo. But if you think he is down, think twice. Ganguly knows how to fight back and the decider is what he would be looking forward to regain his form.

Dravid's case is different though. The wall has been out of form recently and has not had much practice before the series since he is not in reckoning for the ODI's anymore. He has been completely flabbergasted by Mendis's flicker which turns away after pitching on off and middle. The only good thing though is that he looked to gain some lost touch in the 44 he scored in the second innings before being controversially given out to Murali.

India's batsmen were expected to annhilate the Lankan spinners to shreds but Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman together have contributed less than 20 runs per innings. That, more than anything else, sums up the disaster in the first Test at the SSC. Sehwag, Gambhir and Bhajji worked magic in Galle and won the day for India.

What could be heartening is that India have drawn level with the hosts without much of a hand from the stalwarts but if India want to rewrite the history books, the Fab Four would have to come to the party at the PSS.

The stage is all set. History has a funny way of being rewritten and this time the masters from India might well have the final say.