The wicket keepers' show..

Just a litre of milk every day. Apparently, that's the secret of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's awesome strength and power (and Ravi Shastri cannot help but ask this question on any occasion that he gets to interview Dhoni). Whatever that secret, we were treated to some fabulous strokeplay (i'm tempted to use the word powerplay here, but now that phrase has entirely different connotations!) today as Dhoni tore apart the Lankan attach.

The sting of those blows left Marvan Atappatu speechless at the presentation ceremony--- he admitted that taking powerplays (as in the new ODI rules) wouldn't have mattered at all. He couldn't be more matter-of-fact than that. 10 sixes -- huge ones at that-- to go with some screaming ground strokes to the fence -- it was an exhibition of brute power.

Dhoni has made a strong statement--- and his general demeanour and attitude on the field (at least what's visible to us on the television screens) seems to indicate that a Test place is not too far away.

Let's not forget the effort of the other wicket keeper in the game today- Kumara Sangakkara. He seems to have really hit a purple patch-- ever since he played for the World XI in the Super Series. His knock was special and on nine days out of ten, he would have ended on the winning side with a knock like that. But then Dhoni decided it was going to be his day.

Interestingly, both wicket keepers were on the field for almost the entire duration of the game (Dhoni came to bat in the 3rd or 4th over, while Sangakkara batted the entire 50 and then kept wickets ). Kudos to both of them.

India almost began this series as undergoes, but after three games, it's the Lankans who are trying desperately to find their bearings. After another mauling today, it remains to be seen how much they will be able to lift themselves up in the next encounter in Pune.

Return of the Tendulkar of yore?

A dominant Team India? It's probably been an age since India recorded such dominating wins against any one other than the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. It's definitely refreshing to see and read about such performances..

But without sounding pessimistic, consistency and complacency have been two of India's worst problems, and the doubt is whether Team India can continue with their winning start..

What is most refereshing to see is the re-emergence of Tendulkar to his old dominating best-- the stroke-filled, aggressive Tendulkar that bowlers feared, rather than just respected. May be the six month break has just rejuvenated Tendulkar; the time away from the game, however painful that may have been, has probably allowed Tendulkar to reflect on his game, how his approach may have changed in the past few years, and what the future has in store for him (in terms of the number of years ahead). His batting that we witnessed in the past 2 games against Sri Lanka seems to be a conscious change brought about by some deep reflection.

To what extent Chappell had a role to play in the visible change of mindset, we don't know yet.

If Tendulkar's come back was much awaited -- and he's come back in emphatic fashion-- the comeback of Ganguly is debatable and contentious. One is not sure how welcome Ganguly will be in that dressing room after all the furore that has been created. Yet, if we were to give the benefit of doubt, let's say Ganguly's time away from mainstream action allows him to regain his silken touch and he makes his second comeback to Team India, will we see the devastating Tendulkar-Ganguly combination, arguably one of the best ever in their peak, back again? Is that worth a try?