As Kumar Sangakkara calls it a day: Lessons for Kohli and Shastri

Most attention in Colombo currently is obviously focused on Kumar Sangakkara who sails into the sunset after this match. "That’s because there has been no bigger inspiration than Kumar (everybody calls him either that or Sanga here) in the country," said Rajith Fernando, media and communications manager of Sri Lankan cricket. "It should be a packed house tomorrow, there are no tickets available."

It’s a big moment in the island country where cricket – not unlike in India or Pakistan – overwhelms almost everything else. In the hotel where we are staying, discussion among the staff was more about Sangakkara’s retirement than the election results that were announced on Tuesday.

"He’s been so much a part of my growing up years, I will miss him," said the steward at breakfast about Sangakkara Wednesday morning. In a different sort of way, Angelo Mathews echoed the same sentiment after net practice. "It’s a very emotional Test for us," said the Sri Lankan captain at the pre-match press conference. "We want to win it for Sanga."

Among the several Sri Lankans one met during the day, the only one who appeared unflustered, almost casual, was Sangakkara himself. He posed for a few selfies, did some quick interviews for the local media before boarding the team bus back to the hotel after nets.

During net practice, however, he left no scope for distraction. The drill was immaculate: As it has been for more than a decade now, ever since Sanga started his rise to eminence, outgrowing the ordinariness of the run-of-the-mill cricketer.

How he prepares for matches is a case study in concentration and minute technical adjustments according to those who know him closely. On the eve of his last Test too, Sanga spent a great deal of time in personal training, taking throw-downs of various line and length from volunteers, frequently stilling the proceedings as if he was talking, willing himself to one more success.

Just how Sanga bats in the second Test could well determine the fate of the series. In the first, he didn’t make too many, though his second innings 40 offered the early stability from which Sri Lanka could script the amazing turnaround which saw India crash to unlikely defeat.

In his farewell match, Sanga will want to sign off in glory. Another Test double century would put him at level with the peerless Sir Donald Bradman. Even if he doesn’t get a century, he will want to be part of a winning team.

Looked at another way, what happens with Sanga (and Sri Lanka) is how India cope with the pressure of this match, which is greater on them than the home team. The avowed tactic of playing aggressive cricket boomeranged in the first Test at Galle. Will there be a change in approach at Colombo?

Both skipper Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri – who seem like tweedledum and tweedledee – where articulating thoughts on cricket are concerned – have been emphatic that the setback in the first Test will not dilute their aggression.

"There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the team," says Shastri. "It’s a matter of winning one match, and I am sure this team will go places. But of course we have to play sensibly."

Kohli, who could barely hide his disappointment after the first Test loss, says that he is confident his team would bounce back. "Everyone is hungry for success, and we need to keep up the aggression."

The overt emphasis on "aggression" by both Kohli and Shastri has invited some mirth, some scorn among fans and experts alike. But that is being somewhat uncharitable. This is a team in the remaking, and both of them are eager on a cultural shift in the dressing room which cannot happen overnight.

The issue, of course, is that it cannot take much longer. In the past 18-20 months, India have lost some matches which they should have actually won quite easily. This happened in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia – even when Kohli and Shastri were not in leadership positions.

The defeat at Galle perhaps exposes a lingering, deep-seated pusillanimity that should worry Kohli and Shastri. In sport, winning and losing don’t just happen as a matter of course (unless the disparity between teams is huge) but are usually a function of habit.

Indian cricket urgently needs to migrate from bad habit to the good.