In the other seven Tests, the record stands at 4-3 in favor of India.  This is as close as a rivarly can  get.  Admittedly, the India-Sri Lanka rivalry lacks the visceral antipathy on both sides that the India-Pakistan rivalry has been famous for, though the recent encounters between these traditional foes has been more Bollywood Than Blood Feud.  What the India-Sri Lanka rivalry lacks in that gut level appeal, is more than made up for, in the appeal to the cricketing connoisseur that the rivalry presents.  It has batsmen of high quality on both sides, taking on superb bowlers of all types: pace, seam, swing, spin, in contests that are fierce on the field but friendly off it.  Nothing epitomizes the best traditions of the game better than this. 

Appropriately, in less than twenty-four hours, the two rivals will renew battle for the ninth time, and the series is on a razor’s edge.  The setting is the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo, which must hold the record for the city with most Test match grounds.  The last Test match at the PSS, between Sri Lanka and a top tier opponent was versus South Africa in 2006.  That match resulted in a 1 wicket win for Sri Lanka who just about managed to chase down 351 runs, losing 9 wickets in the process.  It was edge of the seat stuff, where fortunes fluctuated constantly and though only one century was scored, by Jayawardane in the fourth innings, to lead his side to a famous victory, no side scored less than 300 runs in any innings, and bowlers as diverse as Ntini, Pollock, Styen, Muralitharan, and Malinga were all among the wickets.  If the upcoming match comes anywhere close to this one in terms of tautness and tension, it will be a Humdinger, worthy of the newest rivalry on the subcontinent, and will prove that Test cricket, can be the most riveting form of the game. 

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