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India did the near impossible at the Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, handing Sri Lanka only its 18th defeat in 67 ODIs at this venue and securing a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.India did it in partnerships. Man-of-the-Match M.S. Dhoni’s 80-ball 76 (8x4) and his alliances of 54 with Suresh Raina (53), and 67 with Rohit Sharma helped India score 237 for nine in 50 overs after winning the toss.Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan resumed their contract from Dambulla, reducing Sri Lanka’s reply to 40 for four: not nearly the point of no return — Mahela Jayawardene’s brave and brilliant 94 (111b, 6x4, 1x6) was far too good to be counted as merely raging against the dying of the light — but close enough..
The efforts of Praveen and Zaheer with the new ball were particularly heartening for two reasons. Defences of targets such as 238 mandate wicket-taking; a good batting side can not be contained to this figure unless dented up-front. Moreover, India, playing a seven-four combination, needed these wickets early so the lack of a fifth bowler wouldn’t be exposed.With the weight of a captain’s expectations on them, Praveen and Zaheer delivered. Making excellent use of the cut on offer under lights, the new-ball pair fractured Sri Lanka’s top-order like an egg between a pair of pincers.Praveen’s width was cut by Sanath Jayasuriya, but the bowler responded with a wrist-snapped delivery that left the dangerous left-hander with the angle, taking the edge to Dhoni. At the other end, Kumar Sangakkara and Zaheer engaged in another battle; again the left-armer prevailed.
Sangakkara had carved Zaheer through and over point to fire the opening salvo; the bowler responded with a magnificent break-back — the delivery that did his bidding in Dambulla, bowling Sangakkara.Here, it jagged into the left-hander’s pads and won the appeal for leg-before.Chamara Kapugedera, promoted to one-drop to spread Sri Lanka’s three best batsmen, flicked Praveen for six in a show of wristy skill. The 21-year-old seamer demonstrated his street smarts: seeing Kapugdera walk across his stumps, Praveen trapped the right-hander with a slower ball that eluded the closed bat face.
Zaheer throttled Chamara Silva on the move, and Munaf Patel joined in, claiming Tillakaratne Dilshan with a cracking leg-cutter. Although Jayawardene, in Thilan Thushara’s capable company, threatened ever so slightly India’s wellbeing, Zaheer and Munaf struck to ensure the third ODI ended as it had begun: in a party to the tune of bugles and drums, with as many people in the stadium as just outside it.Earlier, Gautam Gambhir looked out of touch on return, leaving Virat Kohli to power India’s innings. Both openers survived nervy moments between the wickets. The lessons weren’t learnt, however. Kohli challenged mid-on, only for Chamara Silva to glide from mid-wicket and hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end.Gambhir was adjudged leg-before to Nuwan Kulasekara, although the ball pitched outside leg-stump — an unfortunate end to a scratchy stay.
Yuvraj Singh, promoted so he could settle before spin, struck one glorious six, crouching on a pull after a Kulasekara delivery kept low.Resurrection But the left-hander stabbed at one angled across him, edging it to the lone slip. With S. Badrinath failing to hit Mendis over the top, having skipped down the track to a carom ball, it fell on Raina and Dhoni to resurrect India. This they did with considerable skill and poise until a mix-up ruined matters.First, the skill and poise. The ball wasn’t coming on, and Raina battled to keep his drives on the ground — an old failing that has to do with a front foot that stiffens, not always leading him into the stroke. But the left-hander succeeded, surviving to pull Kulasekara and attack Mendis.Raina slog-swept Mendis for six and drove Muttiah Muralitharan over extra cover for four. Dhoni created room: with his front pad out of the way, he bottom-handed the spinners through the off-side, cuffing and cutting them.But India for the first time in the ODI series pressured the 23-year-old. In taking Mendis for 55 in his first nine overs (and Muralitharan for 48 in his nine), Dhoni’s men expressed their intent; the rest followed.
SCOREBOARD
India: V. Kohli (run out) 25, G. Gambhir lbw b Kulasekara 8, Yuvraj c Jayawardene b Kulasekara 12, S. Raina (run out) 53, S. Badrinath c Vaas b Mendis 6, M.S. Dhoni c Jayawardene b Mendis 76, Rohit c Kapugedera b Thushara 32, Harbhajan c Sangakkara b Mendis 2, Praveen (not out) 2, Zaheer c Muralitharan b Thushara 1,
Extras (b-2, lb-6, nb-1, w-11) 20; Total (for nine wickets in 50 overs) 237.
Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Kohli), 2-40 (Gambhir), 3-62 (Yuvraj), 4-91 (Badrinath), 5-145 (Raina), 6-212 (Rohit), 7-229 (Harbhajan), 8-229 (Dhoni), 9-237 (Zaheer). PP1 (1-10): 40/2; PP2 (11-15): 22/1; PP3 (16-20) 14/0. Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 10-2-33-0, Kulasekara 7-1-32-2, Thushara 9-1-36-2, Mendis 10-0-56-3, Muralitharan 9-0-48-0, Jayasuriya 5-0-24-0.
Sri Lanka: S. Jayasuriya c Dhoni b Praveen 13, K. Sangakkara lbw b Zaheer 9, C. Kapugedera lbw b Praveen 12, M. Jayawardene c Praveen b Munaf 94, C. Silva lbw b Zaheer 1, T. Dilshan c Dhoni b Munaf 16, C. Vaas b Harbhajan 0, N. Kulasekara lbw b Yuvraj 11, T. Thushara b Zaheer 30, A. Mendis (not out) 6, Muttiah Muralitharan b Munaf 6;
Extras (lb-2, w-4) 6; Total (in 49 overs) 204. Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Jayasuriya), 2-26 (Sangakkara), 3-37 (Kapugedera), 4-40 (Silva), 5-58 (Dilshan), 6-59 (Vaas), 7-94 (Kulasekara), 8-175 (Thushara), 9-192 (Jayawardene). PP1 (1-10): 41/4; PP2 (11-15): 17/0; PP3 (16-20): 12/2. India bowling: Praveen 10-0-62-2, Zaheer 10-3-23-3, Munaf 10-1-42-3, Harbhajan 10-0-29-1, Yuvraj 8-0-37-1, Rohit 1-0-9-0.
