The referral system, intended to fix ICC's normally incompetent umpiring, debuted in this Test series between India and Sri Lanka, both frequent victims of poor ICC umpiring in the past.

Although the third umpire, Rudi Koertzen, hardly proved to be better in the third umpires box with TV replays at his disposal, than he is out on the field -- often overturning correct decisions at India's expense (just what do these umpires have against India?), umpiring was not a factor in this game, unlike the Sydney Test against Australia which triggered the appeal system.

Murali played the attacker and Mendis the supporter as Indian batting caved in on a pitch where the hosts piled up big runs in the first innings. They also used the referral system to snap up key decisions at crucial times. Bowlers benefited from the system, but the performance of the field as well as third umpires left much to be desired.

It was one of Lanka's biggest wins at home, and given the composition of the team, it could hardly be argued that India was still in T20 mode.

An embarassing display by premiere Indian Test batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, glittering stars of many a game in the past, showed they may be past their sell-by date. But none of the other batsmen stood up to be counted either.

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