Unfortunately, the Suraj Randiv-virender Sehwag incident took away the significance of India's fine comeback victory over Lanka on Monday "When an Indian boy comes home from a cricket match, he is asked, 'how many runs did you score?' while an Australian kid is asked, 'who won?' When a firang cricket pundit said this a few years ago, his view was not appreciated. <table style="width: 174px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="174" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/aug/kumar.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Praveen Kumar (centre) is congratulated by teammates Ravindra Jadeja (left), Suresh Raina (right) and Rohit Sharma for his fine pace bowling performance for India against Sri Lanka in the tri-series game at Dambulla on Monday. PIC/AFP</td></tr></tbody></table>But looking back, he could well be right, considering India's obsession with individual performance. Sure, Virender Sehwag missing out on a one-day international hundred by one run through a no-ball from Suraj Randiv is news. But doesn't the Indian team or Sehwag for that matter, deserve more words of kudos for the comeback win? It was a creditable, if not an amazing performance (six-wicket victory with 93 balls to spare) after a 200-run shellacking to New Zealand last week. And that Sri Lanka were seen off in a run-chase should've added to the gloss. Certain sections of the media have already tagged Randiv a cheat. Ditto Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara. Firstly, it is yet to be proved whether the bowler did it on purpose. Secondly, he didn't do anything that was not in the rulebook though it did not give a good name to the spirit of cricket. That Sehwag came out in the open to tell it like it is in his post-match conference is admirable in an age where players are hesitant to speak their mind. The classic case in point is the overload issue in Indian cricket ufffd no player has admitted on record that there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. Then, the media is blamed for adding spice to the spread. However, Sehwag initially insisted that the no-ball incident was not a controversy. "This is not a controversy ufffd no team wants anybody to score 100 against them and they did that. They were happy and we are happy. We won the game and the bonus point," Sehwag was quoted as saying. It was here where he played a false shot as it were; it was here where he joined the stereotypes who go out of their way to douse the flames of controversy, but say enough to spark off a row. Players take pleasure in blaming the media for controversies, but many a time, they play a key role in creating them. The more surprising aspect is the decision by the Sri Lankan board to initiate an enquiry. It appears this was done to appease India, the financial powerhouse of world cricket. Also, several Sri Lankan players figure in Indian Premier League teams and their establishment is aware that there is a lucrative auction coming up. Wonder what the International Cricket Council will do in the light of what happened on Monday night. If the no-ball was deliberate, it is a slap in the face to their Spirit of Cricket campaign. Maybe shaking hands before and after games should be replaced by some lectures to the practitioners of the sport ufffd doesn't matter if it goes against the popular line, 'less talk, more action'.

Unfortunately, the Suraj Randiv-virender Sehwag incident took away the significance of India's fine comeback victory over Lanka on Monday

By the way, India won

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By the way, India won

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