India beat Sri Lanka, clinch ODI series (Lead)
By Rex Clementine
Colombo, Aug 27 : India recorded their first bilateral series win against Sri Lanka
on Sri Lankan soil when they wrapped up the five-match series with a game to go at the R.
Premadasa Stadium here Wednesday.
The Indians set the Sri Lankans a target of 259 in 50 overs and won by 46 runs as the
hosts were bowled out for 212 with 21 balls to spare.
Mahela Jayawardene, who had become the first Sri Lankan captain to lose a home series
to England last year, added a first ever series defeat to India at home too to his resume
after the tourists took a 3-1 lead.
Veteran left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya set it up nicely for the Sri Lankans when he
thrashed a typical aggressive 60 in 52 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes, but the
rest of the batsmen blew it away as they had done all throughout the series, failing to
provide any resistance.
The hosts replaced a steady opener in Malinda Warnapura to partner Jayasuriya, but that
made no difference as the left-hander failed to add anything to the Sri Lankan total. He
spent 31 minutes at the crease and saw the Sri Lankan total move to 28, but he was on zero
and was ruled out leg before wicket to Munaf Patel. Munaf also came back to remove Kumar
Sangakkara, who dragged one onto the stumps having made just six.
Jayasuriya, meanwhile, was in great nick and when he added 36 runs for the third wicket
in 39 balls with Jayawardene, it looked as if the Sri Lankans had turned the tide.
To stop the run flow, Dhoni introduced Harbhajan Singh and the off-spinner got
sufficient turn to trouble the batsman. He got the prize wicket of Jayasuriya when the
left-hander tried to tap away a flighted delivery for a single, but ended up getting a
leading edge and Suresh Raina at slip did spectacularly well to dive to his left and take
the catch.
With the side in trouble, Jayawardene went for a suicidal single to short fine leg, but
failed to beat Virat Kohli's throw and was run out. Harbhajan also accounted for
struggling middle order batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan for 12 to make it 131 for five and to
make things worse, Sri Lanka lost Chamara Kapugedara soon, this time due to an error of
judgment by umpire Billy Doctrove.
Like he has done all through the series, Thilan Tushara Mirando, who had earlier
claimed his first ever five-wicket haul in ODIs, was involved in a lone battle, but he was
only delaying the inevitable. He was the last man to be dismissed after scoring 40 runs in
only 29 balls with two boundaries and two sixes.
It was a great win by the young Indian side, especially in the context that they had
lost two of their key player, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, due to injury and
after losing the first ODI by eight wickets, they fought back remarkably to inflict an
embarrassing defeat on their neighbours.
The Indian total was possible thanks to half-centuries by Suresh Raina (76) and M.S.
Dhoni (71), who fought hard to give the tourists a total above 250.
They added 143 runs for the fourth wicket in 141 balls and narrowly missed the record
for that wicket in matches between Sri Lanka and India that's held by Sourav Ganguly and
Yuvraj Singh, who had added an unbroken 145 run stand last year in Vishakapatnam.
The Sri Lankans did well to fight back claiming the last seven wicket for 34 runs, but
Dhoni and Raina had done enough to help their side for a series win.
Earlier, left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas became the fourth bowler in the history of the
game to claim 400 ODI wickets after Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan and Waqar
Younis.
--IANS
