http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750: Day Four Update at Lunch
SRI LANKA 425 & 143/8
INDIA 436
The third and final test match between Sri Lanka and India has taken a fascinating turn on Day 4 at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo. The Sri Lankan’s lost their night watchman Suraj Randiv in the opening exchanges of the day as the off-spinner was dropped by the Indian captain and wicket keeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 a ball earlier before his eventual lbw dismissal to spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Randiv looked threatening at the start of the innings but unfortunately for Sri Lanka, his progress was nipped in the bud for a mere 6 runs.
His dismissal brought the most experienced and classy duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara at the crease. The two aimed at accumulating runs at a steady pace as Ojha and fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ishant-Sharma-c64566 made life difficult with their probing line and length.
Their discipline was eventually rewarded when Jayawardene fell to Ojha with the ever dependable http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid taking a comfortable catch in the slips; inflicting a body blow to the hosts.
If Jayewardene’s dismissal was a body blow, the departure of Kumar Sangakkara knocked the stuffing out of the hosts. The Sri Lankan captain was shell shocked when his attempted pull short against Ojha ended into the hands of Suresh Raina who took a tumbling catch on the second attempt.
Sangakkara scored 28 runs off 49 balls, striking a solitary boundary in his workmanlike effort.
The Sri Lankan batsmen were bamboozled by Ojha’s spin, while their misfortune was compounded when leg-spinner Amit Mishra took two wickets in the space of two balls.
Angelo Matthews was the first one to go. After striking a boundary of Ojha, Mathews smashed a full toss that dipped in late into the hands of Sachin Tendulkar who was positioned at the mid-wicket region to spark wild celebrations in the Indian camp.
If Matthews brought them joy, then http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Prasanna-Jayawardene-c82537’s scalp on the next ball was sheer delirium for Dhoni and his men. Mishra trapped him lbw as he attempted a forward prod, to leave his team reeling at 87 for 7.
Lasith Malinga negotiated the hat-trick delivery with relative ease before stitching a useful partnership with first innings centurion Thilan Samaraweera.
At the stroke of lunch, Malinga’s resistance came to an end when he was trapped on the pads by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virender-Sehwag-c95429. The fast bowler contributed 15 runs with two fours to his credit. The hopes of the hosts now rest on the shoulders of Thilan Samaraweera who was unbeaten on 33 at the end of the first session. Sri Lanka lead India by 132 runs with Mendis at the crease on 10 off 5 balls.
Tags: