Tendulkar drags a Murali ball onto his stumps...India under serious pressure at 123-4, laxman needs to do his all too familiar rescue act yet again. The Indian shot selection this innings, fielding at short leg and wicket keeping(by Kartik) while bowling leaves a lot to be desired. I'm still hoping we can save this test match.

It's strange how Dhoni's always been the one to get criticised for his 'keeping while he's supposed to be keeping Karthik out because of his batting. Yet Dhoni was on fire with the gloves in Australia, while Karthik is apparently struggling. Owzat for irony?

On a pitch where 4 SL batsmen scored centuries, the Indian "stars" are struggling.

Perhaps all the IPL money has gone to their "heads" and the Indian cricketers who have been made "Gods" by their media and by their public, have no motivation to perform for their country now.

Or it is time for the likes of Dravid, Laxman,Ganguly, Tendulkar, Sehwag to make way for youngsters.

The Indian performance, both in bowling and batting can only be described as "pathetic".

Or they don't know how to play Murali on his home turf! (By which I mean Sri Lanka generally, not Kandy specifically.)

But I don't know how urgent these changes are. Laxman's held firm in the first innings, and if the rest haven't performed, then this is the first match of the series and I don't think panic is necessary for the Indians.

On the plus side, I am glad that Gambhir's done relatively well.

But I agree, overall they should have done much better than they have.

What a thrashing that was,i thought England had problems but that was shocking by India in all departments.

I think India always start a test series poorly and then come to terms with the conditions and other things. Not to give reasons from what was a poor batting display, but I tell you what, you can be the best test side in the world and still lose a game to the Srilankans with the way Mendis and Murali have been bowling in tandem. They have been piling on the pressure and making the Indian batsmen make so many mistakes to make them look like amateurs at best. Add to that all the missed chances while SL were batting and the poor deliveries gifted to their batsmen(the bowlers also been guilty of trying too many things) and then having to follow on..on a deteriorating pitch, adding all the factors you have all the classic symptoms of a big defeat. Some more woes added with a couple of "iffy" decisions going against the Indians by the new review system.

Dhoni keeping Kartik out because of his batting?? No Way!! Dhoni really has picked up his game(as a keeper) since England 2007 and has had a fantastic run as a keeper. Kartik looks woefully short of skills when keeping to spinners and add to that the meaningless shot he played to get himself out in the first innings, I'd pull Dhoni out of his couch in Ranchi and put him on the next flight to Colombo, he's had enough relaxation!!.

I hadn't realized before but with Jaffer gone, we've also lost a dependable short leg fielder.Gambhir looks good, but doesn't look like he can play a patient innings (for a whole day or more)... gifting his wicket when blinded by a stupid rush of blood. Didn't I tell you Aurelius that the batting of the younger Indian batsmen like Gambhir and Sharma in test matches will leave a lot to be desired??, we can see the signs already with Gambhir's dismissals both innings.

Lots of lessons to be learnt after this test. I dont think india should rely on Laxman to bail them out of sticky situations every single time. By the way it heartening to see Ishant Sharma battle it out for quite a while and that too against a couple of high quality spinners.I just hope they manage to come back stronger like they usually do after struggling on an away tour(i know srilanka should hardly be considered an away tour,but still is one!!!!).

That's kind what I was saying.

Yes, you did. Still, Gambhir and Sharma both have a lot of grace and a lot of ability, so the building blocks are there. Steve Waugh averaged in the '30s prior to 1990, only to end with an average of 51. So that's an encouraging thought.

I know you were saying the same thing. I was just surprised that people thought that Dhoni was keeping Kartik out because of his batting. He did have a rough time in England but has worked on his keeping skills since then and taken it to a whole new level. If he needed relaxation he should've skipped playing the Asia Cup and the meaningless Kitply Cup and played this test series instead.

They do have the talent and capability, no question there!! Gambhir also played quite sensibly to reach 40+ and suddenly the inexplicable rush of blood to go down the track to Murali for whom it was childs play and the keeper did the rest. Its the same case with Sharma who plays sensibly to give it away at crucial junctures...hopefully they become mature like Steve Waugh in the example you gave. It is scary as I know the much celebrated indian batting will most probably retire almost at the same time and these guys will be thrown in and the state of the test team and rankings will be like the current NZ team(good in ODI and not so much in tests),whether they manage to pick themselves up to get back to the level of the top test teams will then be upto them.

thoroughly deserved thrashing I thought. this was needed to hurt thier inflated egos and send them crashing back to earth. i do hope they come back stronger after this shameful defeat.