Rohit's consistency and India's busy on-field laboratory

That Rohit Sharma had endured some tough times in Sri Lanka is something that can be understood by glancing at his numbers in the past. In the 18 One-Day International innings that he had played in prior to this series, Rohit could only manage 255 runs at an average of 15.93. He had crossed fifty only once, while his highest in the last eight innings in Sri Lanka before this tour was 11. To add to his woes, he was run-out for a single digit score in the opening game of the series and it seemed as though The Ghost of Christmas Past had found its Ebenezer Scrooge in Rohit.

Before the limited-overs series got underway, Rohit, who was named the vice-captain of the team, recollected his past failures in Sri Lanka, the same team against whom he scored his highest individual ODI score. "I have had some good times against Sri Lanka and at the same time I have had some terrible times against Sri Lanka," he had said. "It is something that happens in sport, there will be ups and downs." As much as he loved scoring against them, playing Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka remained an Achilles Heel. And this was something he set about rectifying.

In the three innings since his single-digit score in the opening ODI, Rohit has grown from strength to strength as he has amassed runs at will and currently tops the batting charts for this series. He has 286 runs, averaging 95.33 with his three consecutive fifty-plus scores, including two centuries in as many innings, helping him in that endeavour. His last two hundreds came in different situations, but the fluidity of his stroke-play remained the same.

During his partnership with MS Dhoni, he helped India recover from a disconcerting position to take the team over the line in a series-clinching win in the third ODI in Kandy. At the R Premadasa stadium