In reply to the Lankans' huge total of over five hundred runs, our Tigers responded very feebly indeed --- they succumbed at only 89 in the first innings & after the follow-on they, however, showed some fight-back temperament. But surprisingly again, they got reduced to an all down stature immediately after their mock- defiance till five down at over two hundred -- they lost the rest of the wickets for only 27 runs!

However, if you try to dissect a little of the Tiger-show, you happen to notice, in your utter frustration, that the newly appointed captain Ashraful, after showing some determination for a longer period of time threw away his important wicket out of the blue. If you tend to explain his unbecoming & irresponsible extinction on the pretext that Ashraful was not getting runs which made him loft the balls, in mere frustration or anger, you are wrong. For, Ashraful & his comrades have to learn the basic truth that ball selection is a major point that they all have to learn and practise. And the vital point that they are missing is that doing good at Test cricket is a matter of temperament ---- it is the absence of that temperament that underlines their inadequacy in playing that version of cricket.

One more point, why should we all, including the media, praise them so high, or do we all get submerged in misplaced joy? Well, if we mean that we are encouraging them, we should do it in a proportionate manner --- we should let them understand their weaknesses only to help them overcome the same.

On and on, cricket, like many other games, is a matter of temperament. Let our emaciated Tigers learn the basics fast and stop making themselves such a helpless spectacle on a regular basis.