Twin spin strikes peg back Sri Lanka
January 14, 2010 00:00:00
Suresh Raina was dismissed for 106 in the 46th over against Sri Lanka.
Upul Tharanga's dismissal in the first over raised flutters of India extending their recovery into the second half of the match, and a spin-induced double strike to dismiss two valuable players left the final poised for a tight finish, according to website cricinfo.
Chasing 246, all Sri Lanka needed were partnerships and Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan set the ball rolling with a 93-run stand. However, their dismissals to spin in the space of 14 deliveries on a rare evening where the dew wasn't a massive factor allowed India make their total seem about 40 runs more than it actually was.
Ashish Nehra delivered a top opening over, hitting a testing length each time. With his third delivery he drew a thick outer edge to send back Tharanga for his second duck in a row, and with his fifth he belted out a very confident lbw shout against Dilshan. But that was as good as it got for India for nearly 16 overs, not least because Nehra hobbled off with an irritant groin after bowling eight deliveries.
Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth, especially, struggled with their bearings and Sangakkara, with very good use of the wrists, latched on readily. He was away with two expertly placed boundaries, just using the pace and putting width away through the off-side arc, and followed those up with two glorious drives past extra cover and point. Dilshan wasn't at his ballistic best but after a tentative beginning, opened up with consecutive fours off the erratic Sreesanth. With Sangakkara striking the ball sweetly, Dilshan set about erecting a platform that would see Sri Lanka through.
25 overs Sri Lanka 128 for 3 (Sangakkara 55, Dilshan 49) need another 118 runs to beat India 245 (Raina 106, Sehwag 42, Kulasekara 4-48).