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SL overcome India
with ease in a rain-truncated affair |
Link to
Scorecard
Sri
Lanka tasted their first success of the CB
Series with a comfortable 8-wicket win with 12
balls to spare in a rain-truncated affair at the
Manuka Oval. Their opponents, India lost the
game but played fascinating cricket, in
particular during their batting. Young Rohit
Sharma was the star performer of the day with
his magnificent strokeplay. His half century had
gone in vain and it was Tillakaratne Dilshan to
become the Player of the Match for his match
winning innings.
Heavy rain wasn't enough to wash out what was
just the second ever international match at the
Manuka Oval in Canberra. With excellent drainage
system in place, a 29-over match was possible.
Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to chase
which is the best option in shortened games.
India started off cautiously as Vaas and Malinga
had a good time with the new ball. Both Sehwag
and Tendulkar didn't blaze along and were caught
at the third man boundary trying to play the big
shots. Sehwag had another failure in ODIs,
making just 14 while Tendulkar got 32 from 30
with 4 fours.
India
didn't get the best of starts at 49 for 2 in 8.2
overs. The inform Gautam Gambhir reconstructed
the innings along with Rohit Sharma, who got
promoted ahead of Yuvraj. Both these young
batsmen batted with responsibility and once the
time was up to step up the momentum, they did
just that with some incredible strokeplay.
Gambhir yet again dominated Murali (who was
playing his 300th ODI) and one of his best shots
was the inside out lofted cover drive off the
same bowler. Gambhir got run out in the 20th
over but not before setting up a nice platform
for India at 113 for 3. Gambhir got 35 from 33
with 3 fours. India finished at a superb 195 for
5 in their allotted 20 overs with Captain MS
Dhoni making a quick cameo of 31 from 26. But it
was the 20-year-old Rohit Sharma, who earned lot
of fans with some of the unimaginable shots like
the cut over the keeper's head and a paddle
sweep both coming off quick bowlers! He made a
career best of 70 not out which came in 64 balls
with 6 fours and a six.
Rain had revisited the Manuka Oval towards
the end of the Indian innings. It left the
ground on time to have a 21 overs chase for Sri
Lanka which revised the target to 154. Sri Lanka
were on the rampage straightaway taking 11 and
23 in Sreesanth's first two overs which got them
to a dream start of 41 for 0 in just 3 overs!
Jayasuriya was in ferocious form smashing two
fours and two sixes to score 27 in 13 before
getting undone by the pace and bounce off Ishant
Sharma to be caught down the legside. Dilshan,
who got promoted as an opener was off to a shaky
start but soon started to get going. He lost his
next partner, Sangakkara early after he holed
out to mid on off Harbhajan Singh in the very
first ball the offie had bowled.
Sri Lanka's Captain Mahela Jayawardene walked
in at 69 for 2 in the 8th over. With Dilshan, he
comfortably steered his side to victory as the
required run rate was at nearly run-a-ball.
India failed to get any wickets as both the
right handers looked in supreme control of their
game to clinch the victory in the 19th over.
Dilshan remained unbeaten on 62 from 59 with 6
fours and a six. Mahela contributed 36 from 35.
Sreesanth had a horrible day leaking 48 runs in
his 3 overs. Harbhajan Singh was economical with
1 for 15 in his 4. It was yet again Ishant
Sharma making the waves with his new found pace
of nearly 150kmph!
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