It was heartening to watch Sri Lanka win a match without Vaas and Muralitharan in the side, especially after India got to 129/2, chasing 257. The Sri Lankan spinners pegged India back, helped by some very good fielding in the mid-to-late overs but the win would certainly not have been on without Sangakkara's century (giving him a well-deserved man of the match award).
All this augurs well for the future, given that Muralitharan and Vaas can't go on for ever (or another 5 years, which ever comes first). Malinga Bandara performs well with almost every outing but seems to be swapped out way too often to do him any good. If Australia had done the same with Warne after his Test debut, we may never have seen him again (a good thing, I can almost hear Darryl Cullinan say).
What with some real pace from Malinga (who unfortunately went for 75 today, in 10) and swing from Farveez Mahroof, people are starting to talk of a second World Cup win, but the Sri Lankan top-order has to be far more consistent for this to become a reality. In this regard, Mahela Jayawardena's form (0 and 4 in the series thus far) must be of some concern.
Time will be the judge of whether Sri Lanka is good enough to take the World Cup again - for now, another couple of wins without Vaas and Muralitharan would help prove that this win was no fluke.
Scores: Cricinfo
Bulletin: Cricinfo
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