Sehwag makes Sri Lanka's bowling look easy
Indian opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in the third match of the tri-series at the Rangiri International Stadium in Dambulla.
Sehwag scored a unbeaten 99 as the Indians recovered magnificently from their 200-run defeat in the opening match of the tournament to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets.
Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat first on a track full of runs. However, they were in for a rude shock as the ball started seaming sharply in overcast conditions.
The Indians made an immediate impact as Upul Tharanga was beaten all ends up on the first ball of the match by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Praveen-Kumar-c82600.
After his demise, the hosts were further pushed back when Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were cleaned up by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashish-Nehra-c46293 and Praveen Kumar respectively in succession.
The hosts were reeling at 44/4 when Thilan Samaraweera scooped a delivery into the hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ishant-Sharma-c64566’s bowling.
The veteran batsman scored only 7 runs off 23 balls with the help of a solitary boundary.
Dilshan and Matthews then took the score to 83 when Dilshan was dismissed by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for 45 runs.
The opener hit five fours of 62 balls. The Sri Lankan’s then slumped further when Matthews and Chamara Kapugedra fell in quick succession to leave the hosts tottering at 103/7.
The hosts avoided a total collapse through a useful 39-run stand for the 8th wicket between Nuwan Kulasekara and Suraj Randiv.
Randiv held the lower half of the innings together with a 43 run knock. His contribution helped the hosts reach a modest total of 170.
Left arm spinner Ojha was the most successful Indian bowler, claiming three wickets for 36 runs in 9.1 overs.
The Indians started their chase tentatively when openers Virender Sehwag and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dinesh-c54134 Karthik opted to bat out the first few overs as the ball swung sharply. However, they failed to get the ball away consistently and had to pay the price when Karthik’s attempt of scoring some quick runs failed as his cut shot landed in the hands of Kulasekara at third man.
The Indians were rocked by two more blows that reduced them to 32/3. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virat-Kohli-c95424 and Rohit Sharma both fell for ducks to Fernando and Matthews respectively.
Sharma was unlucky to be given out lbw as the ball appeared to have come off an inside edge before thudding into the pads.
At this juncture, the Indians were rescued by Sehwag and Suresh Raina who added 59 runs for the fourth wicket stand. Raina was the fourth batsman to be dismissed as he was snapped by Upul Tharanga off Fernando after making 21 runs.
Skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 then joined Sehwag as the two ensured that their team did not lose any further wicket. Both batsmen showed their maturity by strolling to the victory target inside 35 overs.
Sehwag was named as the man-of-the-match for his 99 run knock that came off 100 balls and included 2 sixes and 11 fours.
After chasing the target within 40 overs, the Indians won a bonus point and lead the three team standings with 5 points to their credit.
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