Murali says goodbye and Paranavitana impresses

Tillakaratne Dilshan will kick himself
Got off to three good starts, but failed to convert any into a big century. Dropped Sachin Tendulkar at a crucial moment on the final day of the series.

Tharanga Paranavitana looked solid at the top
Yet to prove himself in more testing away conditions, but didn't waste starts and scored back-to-back Test centuries. Sri Lanka appear closer to finding an able opening partner for Dilshan.

Kumar Sangakkara plundered in style
Batted fluently for his century, double-century and 75 in the three Tests. Was always at the heart of Sri Lanka's attempts at batting first and batting big. Was unorthodox with his captaincy; the moves worked at times, at others they didn't.

Mahela Jayawardene didn't look at his best
A batsman would usually take scores of 48, 174 and 56 in the first innings of three Tests, but Jayawardene wasn't at his best in the series. He almost always started scratchily, keeping the bowlers interested.

Thilan Samaraweera clicked when it counted
Was hardly required in the first two Tests, but his 137 not out and 83 in the final Test, batting with the tail on a difficult pitch, underlined his importance to the team.

Angelo Mathews did not get to do much
Got three chances to bat and bowled just 27 overs. Looked fluent while getting starts, but never kicked on. Gifted his wicket in the last innings of the series.

Prasanna Jayawardene will rue that chance
Arguably the world's best wicketkeeper, but made a huge mistake when he dropped a fairly simple offering from Sachin Tendulkar at the SSC when India were struggling to avoid the follow-on in the second Test. Tendulkar went on to score a double-century; a turning point in the series.

Lasith Malinga was on and off
When he was on, boy was he on! But when we was off, he missed one full Test, and then bowled just six overs on the last, crucial, day of the series. Became Sri Lanka's third-highest all-time wicket-taker during the series.

Muttiah Muralitharan signed off in style
Going into his farewell Test, he wanted eight wickets, and a Sri Lanka win. Bowled long spells, got quick breakthroughs, worked hard at times, but like Richard Hadlee, finished his career with a wicket-taking delivery. This one won Sri Lanka the match too.

Suraj Randiv showed heart
Was welcomed to Test cricket with a boundary from Virender Sehwag, but came back to get his tormentor out thrice in three innings. Bowled unchanged for 21 overs in the final innings of the third Test, and 29 overs out of a total of 68.3, taking 5 for 82.

Ajantha Mendis' mystery seems over
Still not a bad bowler now that he is familiar, but he showed that he needed generous pitches to become dangerous, like he did in patches at P Sara. The bat talked louder in two important partnerships with Samaraweera.

Chanaka Welegedara showed limitations
Although he got Sehwag's wicket twice in Galle, was dropped for the second Test. Rightly too, as he showed in the third. His real threat was only with the swing with the new ball, but there too Sehwag feasted on him.

Dilhara Fernando and Dammika Prasad were cannon fodder
On a lifeless pitch at the SSC, the two bowlers were brought in to replace the injured Malinga and out-of-form Welegedara. Neither did enough, though, to retain his place for the decider.

Rangana Herath was overlooked for more attacking bowlers
India tormented him in India too, and continued to play him without trouble in Galle, giving him just one wicket in 45 overs. Despite a timely 80 not out, didn't play any further part in the series.