The onus will be on Indian batters, particularly the talismanic Virat Kohli, to follow the path laid down by skipper Rohit Sharma and tactfully counter the spin challenge in the third and final ODI in Colombo on Wednesday to avoid their first series defeat to Sri Lanka in 27 years.
It's certainly not the start Gautam Gambhir, a stickler for victories, would want in his first ODI assignment as the team's head coach.
India's previous bilateral ODI series defeat against the Islanders came in 1997. The Arjuna Ranatunga-led Lankans then inflicted a 0-3 hammering on Sachin Tendulkar and his men.
Since then, India and Sri Lanka have played 11 bilateral ODI rubbers home and away, with the 'Men in Blue' emerging on the right side of the result in all of them.