JOIN USClinical Sri Lanka outclass Indians
In front of a near-capacity crowd, the hosts dished out a command all-round performance to end their streak of four defeats at the hands of India in Lanka.
India have bucked the trend of ten wins on the trot for the side batting first at the Premadasa stadium with their six-wicket defeat of New Zealand on Friday, but on the day the men in blue were done in by the sheer size of the target they were hunting, 308 built on Sanath Jayasuriya and Thilina Kandamby’s half-centuries.
India were off to a promising start with Dinesh Kaarthick and Sachin Tendulkar collecting brisk runs. The run rate, however, took a beating with Kaarthick’s dismissal as Dravid (47, 53b, 3x4, 1x6) and Tendulkar didn’t take too many risks and instead looked to consolidate the innings. It wasn’t a bad strategy, but neither stayed long enough to mount a serious challenge.
Tendulkar was done in by a slower one by Nuwan Kulasekara while Lasith Malinga ended Yuvraj Singh’s misery. Dravid, at times clueless against Malinga, looked the best among Indians with some lusty blows. A four and a mighty six off Tillakaratne Dilshan did rekindle the hopes, but his departure — bowled by Angelo Mathews with one that angled into him — soon after Suresh Raina’s fall effectively killed the chase, a 29-run partnership between Ishant Sharma and RP Singh merely delayed the inevitable. Mathews, who had taken five wickets so far in his career, then accounted for skipper MS Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra to return his maiden five-wicket haul (6/20).
Kandamby, five-year-old in international cricket, is still trying to establish himself in the Lankan side while Jayasuriya, at the fag end of his career, is looking for one final hurrah. The two southpaws did their cause no harm with blazing 90-plus scores.
Living on borrowed time, Jayasuriya picked up his favourite side, India, to storm back into form. The feisty opener fell agnoisingly close to a well-deserved century but his 79-ball 98 provided wholesome entertainment. After Jayasuriya’s impetus at the top, Kandamby (91 n.o., 73b, 11x4) came up with an equally impressive knock to provide final flourish, falling just two short of his best score of unbeaten 93 also against India in January early this year.
It was an innings that had Jayasuriya class stamped all over it, hard upper cuts over third man, ferocious pulls, cheeky jabs and the age-defying running between the wickets. Unlike against New Zealand in the first match when he chose caution to re-invent his form, Jayasuriya embraced aggression against India and the approach paid handsome dividends.
Walking in after Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat, Jayasuriya flourished in the company of Dilshan. The left-right combination proved a double whammy for India as previous match hero Ashish Nehra discovered to his horror that an overnight can be too long in a cricketer’s life. The left-armer might have appeared lethal against New Zealand, but bowling on a pitch that was significantly different in its nature, Nehra struggled to find his rhythm. Jayasuriya’s departure followed soon by Mathews appeared to have put India back in the game, but Kandamby, first with Chamara Kapugedera – in for the rested Thilan Samaraweera – and then with Kulasekara raised useful partnerships to ensure Lanka held maintained their advantage. After regaining control, the 27-year-old cut loose to add 83 runs in 92 balls for the sixth wicket with Kapugedera.
It was, however, in the final five overs – 53 runs coming off the batting Power Play – that a good total turned into a daunting one.
DH News Service
Score board
SRI LANKA
Dilshan c Dhoni b Ishant 23
(27b, 4x4)
Jayasuriya lbw Nehra 98
(23b, 2x4)
Jayawardene st Dhoni b Yusuf 17
(23b, 2x4)
Sangakkara lbw Harbhajan 5
(14b)
Mathews st Dhoni b Raina 19
(37b, 1x4)
Kandamby (not out) 91
(73b, 11x4)
Kapugedera (run out) 36
(43b, 2x4)
Kulasekara (not out) 3
(4b)
Extras (LB-4, NB-1, W-10) 15
Total (For 6 wkts, 50 overs) 307
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Dilshan), 2-94 (Jayawardene), 3-102 (Sangakkara), 4-172 (Jayasuriya), 5-176 (Mathews), 6-259 (Kapugedera).
Bowling: Nehra 9-0-62-1 (nb-1, w-4), RP Singh 8-058-0 (w-1), Ishant 10-0-67-1 (w-1), Harbhajan 10-1-37-1 (w-2), Yusuf 7-0-45-1 (w-1), Yuvraj 3-0-20-0 (w-1), Raina 3-0-14-1.
Runs during: Power play1: 1-10 overs: 72/1; Power play 2: 11-15 overs: 23/1; Power play 3: 45-50 overs: 53/1.
INDIA
Kaarthick c S’kkara b Thushara 16
(23b, 2x4)
Tendulkar c Mendis b Kulasekara 27
(33b, 5x4)
Dravid b Mathews 47
(56b, 3x4, 1x6)
Yuvraj C Sangakkara b Malinga 16
(22b, 3x4)
Raina c Sangakkara b Mathews 0
(1b)
Dhoni b Mathews 8
(18b)
Yusuf c Sangakkara b Mathew 1
(5b)
Harbhajan b Mathews 4
(10b)
RP Singh (not out) 19
(25b, 2x4)
Nehra b Mathews 1
(4b)
Ishant c sub (Tharanga) b Mendis 13
(27b, 2x4)
Extras (B-1, LB-1, W-14) 16
Total (all out, 37.2 overs) 168
Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Kaarthick), 2-67 (Tendulkar), 3-105 (Yuvraj), 4-108 (Raina), 5-126 (Dravid), 6-129 (Dhoni), 7-130 (Yusuf), 8-135 (Harbhajan), 9-139 (Nehra).
Bowling: Kulasekara 8-1-35-1 (w-2), Thushara 6-0-34-1, Malinga 8-0-33-1 (w-5), Dilshan 2-0-17-0, Mathews 6-0-20-6, Jayasuriya 2-0-5-0, Mendis 5.2-0-22-1. Runs during: Power play 1: 1-10 overs: 53/1; Power play 2: 11-15 overs: 18/1; Power play 3: 37-37.2 over: 0/1.