While the pitch beat all the experts in the fact that it posed few demons for the batsmen, Sri Lanka still needed a batting heroics to pose a threat to an Indian team without Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
sanath xZGP9 17022
Sri Lanka were set back without a run on board after Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to field when Tillekeratne Dilshn was run out on a suicidal run. But thereafter, the recovery came from the stalwart Sanath Jayasuriya as Kumar Sangakkara gave him good support.
It was a tough start in the beginning when Sri Lanka had to play a patient game as runs were not easy to come and Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma stuck well to their task. But the waiting game paid off as Jayasuriya compiled an innings of fortitude that really set Sri Lanka on their way. Mixing caution and aggression in decent measure, he let the dressing room breathe easy.
Sangakkara was equally limber to the task, milking the spinners for singles when the big shots were not on offer. The 118 run partnership was crucial for the hosts as the pitch tended to slow down and runs as well as preserving wickets had to be balanced. Sangakkara eventually departed for forty-four to Pragyan Ojha as Kandamby went about supporting the imperious Sanath in a half century partnership.
At forty year celebration mark, Jayasuriya surpassed 13000 runs in ODI’s in the process as his half century brought up the 68th time he has done so in ODI as well as the 95th time that he has scored an innings in excess of fifty, just one more than Sourav Ganguly now.
But even as Jayasuriya was tiring having scored his twenty-eighth one day international century, Kandamby wicket caused a mini collapse. Kandamby departed in the power play overs taken in the 39th over and Sanath and the struggling skipper Mahela Jayawardene followed almost immediately.
Fervez Maharoof tried to propel Sri Lanka further towards 250 by scoring a quick fire thirty-five off twenty-seven balls. It took some scrapping in the end to get to 247, leaving India with an enticing chase on the cards.
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