Dilshan and Sangakkara pilot Lanka to a 68-run win

CHRIS DHAMBARAGE

Sri Lanka produced the ingredients of success for the first time to beat the touring Indian team by 68 runs in the fifth and final one day international worked off at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday.

Sri Lanka also managed to avert a humiliating clean sweep for the first time on home soil although they could not prevent India from running away with the series 4-1. The Lankans completed their task in style by piling up the highest total at this venue and then dismissed their opponents for 252 with an over to spare.

Sri Lanka after their magnificent batting performance made certain that there will be no contest at the end by reducing India to 138 for 6 at the half way stage of the innings. The only concern for Mahela Jayawardena was the explosive batting of Yuvraj Singh who launched a severe counter attack under tremendous pressure.

The dynamic middle order batsman treated the Sri Lanka fast bowlers like spinners while racing to his 39th one day international half century with the help of ten smashing boundaries before he was deceived by the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni then delayed Sri Lanka’s victory to a great extent with a determined batting performance while putting on 55 runs for the seventh wicket together with the debutant Ravindra Jadeja. Sri Lanka’s match winning total was earlier built around a second wicket partnership of 143 runs from just 136 deliveries between opener Tillekeratne Dilshan and vice captain Kumar Sangakkara.

The right and left hand combination got their act together well and set the pace for a massive total after skipper Mahela Jayawardena had won the toss for the first time and elected to bat.

The openers Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya certainly proved how important it was to win the toss and bat first with a solid stand of 66 runs from ten overs. But the best part of the batting came when Sangakkara joined Dilshan and the pair was able to take the game away from the Indian team.

Sangakkara got his eye as soon as he arrived and made his intentions clear with a series of boundaries. In fact he raced to his 48th one day international fifty from just 46 deliveries inclusive of half a dozen of boundaries.

Dilshan kept the momentum going during the middle overs through some excellent running between the wickets which resulted in a 46 run stand for the third wicket along with Thilina Kandambi who made a run a ball 26.

Sri Lanka reached an impressive 255 for 3 by the 41st over before India came back into the game through a magnificent spell of bowling from Ishant Sharma. The medium paceman produced a sensational 42nd over to claim the wickets of Thilina Kandambi and Chamara Kapugedera.

In between Tillekeratne Dilshan was run out for a well compiled 97 and skipper Mahela Jayawardena was deceived by Yuvraj Singh which means Sri Lanka had lost four wickets within the space of six deliveries.

However all rounder Farveez Maharoof produced some big hitting during the slog overs and when the batting power play was also in effect that ensured Sri Lanka got past the three hundred run mark quite convincingly.

The two teams will meet again at the same venue on Tuesday for their maiden Twenty20 International commencing at 7.00 p.m.

SRI LANKA INNINGS

Tillakaratne Dilshan run out			97
Sanath Jayasuriya c Raina b Irfan Pathan	37
Kumar Sangakkara c Rohit Sharma b Yuvraj	84
Thilina Kandamby b Ishant Sharma		26
Mahela Jayawardene c Raina b Yuvraj		 1
Chamara Kapugedera c Dhoni b Ishant Sharma	 0
Farveez Maharoof run out			32
Thilan Thushara c & b Ishant Sharma		11
Nuwan Kulasekara not out			10
Muttiah Muralitharan not out			 3

Extras: (3b, 8lb, 7w, 1nb)			19
Total: (for 8 wickets)				320
Overs: 50.

Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-209, 3-255, 4-255, 5-256, 6-256, 7-277, 8-315.

Bowling: Irfan Pathan 9-0-55-1, Ishant Sharma 10-0-60-3 (1nb 3w), Lakshmipathy Balaji 5-0-32-0 (1w), 
	Virender Sehwag 3-0-26-0 (1w), Ravindra Jadeja 6-0-40-0 (1w), Yusuf Pathan 3-0-20-0,
	 Suresh Raina 6-0-24-1 (1w), Yuvraj Singh 6-0-39-2, Rohit Sharma 2-0-13-0.

INDIA INNINGS
Gautam Gambhir c Sangakkara b Kulasekara	13
Virender Sehwag c Jayasuriya b Thushara	 	 6 
Suresh Raina c Sangakkara b Kulasekara		 0
Yuvraj Singh c & b Muralitharan			73
Rohit Sharma c Kulasekara b Maharoof		15
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Kulasekara b Jayasuriya	53
Yusuf Pathan lbw b Muralitharan			 3
Ravindra Jadeja not out				60
Irfan Pathan c Kapugedera b Mendis		 8
Lakshmipathy Balaji c Kulasekara b Mendis	 7
Ishant Sharma b Maharoof			 4

Extras: (2lb, 8w)				10
Total: (all out in 8.5Overs:)			252
 
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-9, 3-52, 4-85, 5-121, 6-138, 7-193, 8-217, 9-243.
Bowling: Nuwan Kulasekara 9-0-42-2, Thilan Thushara 6-0-34-1 (1w), Farveez Maharoof 5.5-0-46-2 (1w),
 	Muttiah Muralitharan 10-0-41-2 (1w), Ajantha Mendis 10-0-44-2 (5w), Sanath Jayasuriya 6-0-28-1, Tillakaratne Dilshan 2-0-15-0.