Slip between the cup and the lip

ndia came into this tri-series tournament as everybody's favourite bet to win, but after losing to a seriously under-strength Sri Lanka, and struggling against minnows Bangladesh, their favourites tag and their reputation of being close to becoming the top-dogs in international cricket took a serious beating.
What was needed was an assertive, dominant display, and India chose to do just that in considerable style, against a much stronger Lankan team than they had lost to in the first match.
Captain Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat - which was a logical decision considering Sri Lanka had already qualified for the finals, and Sangakkara thought it best that his bowlers get a match-situation feel of bowling with the dew-factor, so that in case that eventuality came to pass in the finals, they would be better prepared.
It was a sound theory, but the proverbial slip between the cup and the lip came back to bite Sri Lanka hard as the batsmen capitulated in the face of an Indian attack that bowled quite unlike it had in the previous two matches - with discipline and verve. The batsmen's collapse left the bowlers with hardly anything to defend, and even with Virender Sehwag rested, the Indian batsmen reached the target with ease.

Source :
http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/23131/Clinical-India-overwhelm-Sri-Lanka

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