India's batting mainstays in the previous game, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, played the role again with a 143-run stand but their good work was undermined by Thilan Thushara, whose timely strikes triggered a dramatic collapse. The last seven wickets fell for 34 as India were limited to 258, which could still prove defendable given the ball was stopping on the batsmen, reports Cricinfo.
Dhoni won his fourth straight toss and decided to bat but India were struggling at 81 for 3 before Raina and Dhoni took charge. Both were decisive with their footwork, regularly charging down the track to negate the spin, or playing right back and reading the spin off the pitch. The running between the wickets was sharp and, with Raina playing some breathtaking lofted drives, the stuttering run-rate got a lift.
They batted sensibly, cutting out the risks, and it wasn't until India were out of trouble that the more chancy shots - the reverse-sweep and the paddle-sweep - were brought out. With Raina playing the big stokes, including a massive pull for six over midwicket off Muttiah Muralitharan, Dhoni was content with some quick singles and twos - there were only four boundaries in his 71.
The spin threat was negated and the pair powered India to a commanding 224 for 3 in the 41st over before Thushara struck. He had Raina holing out to mid-off and dismissed a tiring Dhoni soon after, leaving two new batsmen to deal with the wiles of Murali and Ajantha Mendis. They throttled the runs, which resulted in more wickets falling, and Thushara, who had never taken more than two wickets in an ODI before, took two in his final over to complete his five-for.
The Dhoni-Raina stand came after the Indian top order floundered in the face of some disciplined bowling from the Sri Lankan medium-pacers.
49.4 overs India 258 (Raina 76, Dhoni 71, Kohli 54, Thushara 5-47) v Sri Lanka 131 for 5 at 9:30 pm.
Thushara-led fightback keeps India to 258
FE Team | Published: August 28, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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