After the Indian Premier League, the Twenty20 World Cup, the Asia Cup, even the two-game Pearls Cup in Florida, and before the Asia Cup, the 2010 Micromax Cup shouldn't have warranted much attention, but thanks to some surprising performances and even more surprising results, it did. While the end result of the tournament - a nine-wicket win by Sri Lanka - may not raise too many eyebrows, the bigger story was the significant improvement in Zimbabwe's cricket, how they played it and how positive they were about it. It's harsh to say, but the only real losers in this tournament were India, with two wins out of four games and none of their youngsters making a mark.
Sri Lanka - the most immediate plus for Sri Lanka is Tillekeratne Dilshan batting his way back into some form. He scored cautiously in his first two games, getting used to the conditions and finding his mojo again. His opening partner, Upul Tharanga, also enjoyed some good scores, but both will be aware that they had to contend with substandard opposition bowling attacks. Dilshan is guaranteed a regular place in the Sri Lankan squad, but I don't think Tharanga made a strong enough place for his inclusion. Similarly for Ajantha Mendis - he bowled economically and took wickets, but he has continued to disappoint against batting lineups that have understood his spin bowling. Of the youngsters, Dinesh Chandimal stood out the most with his wicketkeeping and flawless century against India, but ordinary scores in the other games will keep him from a promotion. Suraj Randiv continued to impress with his bowling, and will probably find himself a regular in the Sri Lankan squad before too long.
India - the only positive for India in the Micromax Cup was Rohit Sharma's back-to-back centuries against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Suresh Raina's captaincy was disappointing (forgetting to declare the bowling Powerplay and denying Sharma and Virat Kohli the batting Powerplay in the same game), and despite a completely revamped Indian lineup, only Ravichandran Ashwin impressed - and at that, he had just the one match. In only one game did the bowlers take all ten opposition wickets, and failed to defend good totals (285 and 260) in others. The running between the wickets was clumsy, with batsmen failing to cross even when the ball was in the air. The go-slow approach in the must-win game against Zimbabwe condemned them to defeat and sent to the brink of elimination. Debuting three new players in their ultimate game against Sri Lanka called into question the focus of the team, asking the hard question - had India simply given up?