When they are in their hotel room, the sun is out. The moment they step out for practice, the clouds take over and it starts raining.

In a way, the Bentota resort -- as the team prepares for a showdown with Sri Lanka tomorrow -- with its lush green surroundings, palm trees and view of the sea, may have acted as a balm for the bruised reputations of the players.

The team, escorted by the security befitting a high-level dignitary, moved into Colombo and dot at five in the evening, the time marked for practice at the floodlit Premadassa Stadium, it started raining. Another practice session gone waste.

One of the reasons for an abysmal bowling show and an abject top order batting surrender given by the coachand the captain, was lack of opportunities to practice, at Colombo as well as at Matara on the eve of the Galle match. Going by this, the Indians might struggle tomorrow as well against a team which is beset with their own problems. The major one on the eve of the match is injury to captain Sanath Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya injured the webbing between the index finger and the thumb of his right hand while stopping Ricky Ponting's shot in the first match against Australia and received two stitches. Jayasuria is the hub around which the Sri Lanka's wheel of fortune revolves, especially after the removal of Arjuna Ranatunga and Arvinda de Silva.

Jayasuriya is keen to play but the injury is at such a vital spot that if it has not healed, he may not be able to grip the bat properly.

One man's misfortune may bring good tidings to the other, but Sachin Tendulkar would not want to focus his thoughts on such extraneous influences to decide the fate of the game.

Underneath a soft exterior, Tendulkar hides anintense desire to succeed and it is to be seen whether he is willing to go to any length to translate his dreams into reality.

Like everyone else, he too must be aware of the limitations of his team and the bearing it has on the final result of a match. If one starts counting the weaknesses of the team -- from lack of fitness to imbalance in bowling to inconsistency in batting -- the picture may appear bleak.

If, in the World Cup, India had an excess of opinions guiding them -- two coaches, a trainer and a doctor -- here, they appear lacking in proper methods of training. A doctor is not necessarily the best choice to replace a trainer and the present coach has been with the team for too long without producing desired results.

Indian cricket is in need of an overhauling and Tendulkar, at the moment, has the power to force the board to take some strong measures which might have a positive effect on the fortunes of the team.

Otherwise, like the scene today at the Premadasa Stadium, which was protectedby covers so that the ground and the wicket does not get wet with rain, the Indians appeared a bit lost. Tendulkar will soon find his second stint as captain may not different from the first.

Teams (from)

India: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Amay Khurasia, Robin Singh, M S K Prasad, Anil Kumble, Nikhil Chopra, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Vinod Kambli, Laxmi Rattan Shukla.

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Mahela Jayawardenea, Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardene, Russel Arnold, Indiaka de Saram, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chamara Silva, Upul Chandana, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suresh Perera, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoyza, Pramodya Wickremasinghe.