As the spirits are heightened again in the ongoing India- Sri Lanka test series, here is the time to have a close look at the leading players’ performances. After leveling the test series, Indian team looks in high spirits. Indian fans are waiting for Sachin to break the record of Lara. This series is the chance for the master blaster to score his 40th Test century.

After the miserable defeat in the first test, Indian team handed the hosts a crushing defeat. With this win the expectations on Sachin have also increased. So far Sachin has not been able to come up with a good performance. After these two tests, Tendulkar still remains 96 runs adrift of Brian Lara’s record to become the highest run scorer in Test cricket. Lara’s record is 11,953 runs while Tendulkar before the series started had 11,782 at 55.31. He now has 11,857 runs. After losing the chance to break the record in first two tests, the third test comes as a golden chance to Sachin.

So far in this tour Sachin’s bat has failed to produce some good figures. The four innings have yielded 75 runs at average of 21.25, with a top score of 31 on day three of this Galle Test, won by India on Sunday. This performance has surely disappointed the cricket fans especially when you consider how the boast was made that he would scale peaks of success in the first game of the series.

Interestingly, it was against Sri Lanka at Ferozshah Khotla in New Delhi during India’s last Test series against Sri Lanka that Sachin finally edged ahead of Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries. So the same rivals are here to give chance to Sachin to break another record! The whole world will watch the action on Saravanamuttu Oval in Colombo where the third Test starts on Friday. All the best Sachin!

On the other hand there is some good news for the other Indian players. After their great performances in the second test, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh have made rapid strides in the latest ICC player rankings. Opener Virender Sehwag, who cracked an unbeaten double century in the first innings and followed it up with a blazing fifty at Galle, moved 10 places to No. 11. Such a performance was much anticipated from Sehwag and Viru did meet the expectations!

There is another star of the test series- Bhajji! After being in news for so many wrong reasons, Bhajji has again made the headlines, this time of course for the good reasons! Harbhajan Singh bagged 10 wickets in the second test. This performance moved him to the 11th position in ICC rankings, after climbing seven places. Harbhajan Singh is led by his captain Anil Kumble in the rankings, who remains on No. 9, while Zaheer Khan is in the 18th position.

Sehwag’s opening partner Gautam Gambhir is also out to move the ICC rankings. He jumped a whopping 28 spots to be in 49th position that too in great fashion! For Sri Lankans much is not good to hear! Sri Lankan vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, who started the Test series ranked the No. 1 Test batsman, however, slipped to No. 2 after the first Test. But after another average display at Galle, he slid three spots further to fifth. Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies leads the batting charts.

The bad news for India is that the fabulous four of Indian middle order - Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman - did not play an exceptional part in the series. So this dismal performance by these main players have arisen many questions like whether they are approaching the end of the road?

Since upcoming test match is there, so there is no reason to panic yet. This will be perhaps the final test opportunity for these four players to prove their worth. Especially for Sachin this will be the chance to surpass the record of Lara.
The one who’s failed in all four innings so far is, of course, Ganguly, 36. Normally he is considered one of the most skillful in the face of spinners but his lack of runs is a little worrying.

Along with these four players the final test is also test of Kumble himself. His skills in bowling and leading the team will be under a tough scanner. So all of us who follow the game enthusiastically, have to wait and watch - what these tired shoulders can do in third test match. On the other hand the younger players who have jumbled the ICC rankings, they have surely much to gain from the final test match.