Struggling Sri Lanka look for morale boost

The Big PictureHow do lift your side less than two days after their worst-ever home defeat - that too for a dead rubber? That's what Mahela Jayawardene has to figure out ahead of the fourth one-dayer at the R Premadasa Stadium. Of particular concern is their bowling, which was toothless against the rampaging Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag on Tuesday. Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis were handled with ease and even the usually accurate Farveez Maharoof leaked runs. The fielding has been below par as well, grassing chances on a regular basis, and the batting is inconsistent.

Sri Lanka's ODI record against major teams since the 2007 World Cup makes for sorry reading - the Asia Cup triumph and the recent win against a turmoil-ridden Pakistan are outweighed by home losses to India (twice) and England, the poor show at last year's CB series, and defeat in the Caribbean.
India, on the other hand, have little to worry about; even their spinners, who hadn't been among the wickets till the third game, are firing. Another victory will help them break the record for most wins on the trot by an Indian side in ODIs but Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said the focus is more on testing the bench strength.