Sri Lanka made a whitewash of Sachin Tendulkar's hapless Indians, beating them twice in the Asia Cup and on three other occasions in the one-day series that followed at home.
But winning a series in India, no matter whether it is Test or one-day, the odds are always heavily weighed against the visiting side.
Having failed to beat Sri Lanka in a Test series in India for the first time, Tendulkar's Indians faltered further when they didn't qualify for the final of the four-nation Champions trophy in Sharjah, losing all three qualifying matches.
``They are a good side going through bad times, and it is important for us not to take them lightly,'' said Sri Lanka manager Duleep Mendis.
``It was a big achievement for us to come through the Test series unbeaten, but we should not be satisfied with it. There are certain grey areas, like the bowling department we have to improve on,'' he said.
Mendis is confident, his side would come through the series victorious, although admitting it was not going to be easy playing under Indian conditions.
That confidence is exuded by the fact that Sri Lanka have the most powerful and experienced batting line-up in Test and One-day cricket today, with the top seven batsmen in the order, all having scored centuries at both levels. No other side in current day cricket can boast of such a line-up.
The return of little wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana to the side has given the Sri Lankan batting this unusual combination. Kaluwitharana returns to the team after an indifferent performance behind the wickets as well as with the bat, which saw him left out of the last 11 one-day internationals (and three Tests) played by Sri Lanka in the past five months.
A lack of self-confidence in his ability led to Kaluwitharana's poor performances. One hopes he has regained enough confidence to make meaningful contributions towards the success of his team.
Although there is a clamouring in certain quarters to pair Kaluwitharana with Sanath Jayasuriya in the openers slot - a move that proved successful in Sri Lanka's World Cup winning campaign, Mendis, who is also the chairman of selectors, dispelled any thinking in that direction.
Mendis said the Jayasuriya-Marvan Atapattu combination which has proved so effective since they came together in the Independence Cup match against New Zealand at Hyderabad, would continue for the series.
Mendis praised the national selectors for perservering with Atapattu, despite his dismal record in Test cricket. Atapattu finally came good at Mohali to score his maiden Test century and missed out on another 'ton' at Mumbai by two runs.
``Atapattu took a long time to overcome the pressures and tensions of international cricket. Some players adjust to them very quickly, but others like Atapattu take some time. I am glad the selectors kept faith in him,'' said Mendis.
The form of key strike bowler Chaminda Vaas has of late raised a few eyebrows. The Sri Lankan spearhead has been struggling to maintain the high standards he has set himself and was nowhere near his hostile pace and movement with which he has troubled and bemused some of the best contemporary batsmen in the world.
Mendis said that Vaas had a recurrence of the back injury which kept him out of the Caribbean tour in June this year, and was under treatment. He expressed confidence that Vaas would be fit for the one-day series.
Mendis admitted that the Sri Lanka bowling line-up was far from satisfactory, and hoped the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka by the England 'A' side would enable them to unearth a few bowlers of value.
``The main problem that we have is the lack of quality bowlers. The England 'A' tour comes as a blessing to allow those on the fringe of selection to be tested and tried before being thrown into the international arena,'' he said.
The three one-day internationals will be played on December 22 (at Guwahati), December 25 (Indore) and December 27 (Goa).