It was another good day for M.S.Dhoni and his men in the office as they thrashed Sri Lanka quite comfortably by 33 runs to lead the five match one day series by 2-1. Indian pacer continues their good show as they removed Sri Lankan top order to give no chance in chasing down 238 runs for victory.
Indian bowlers also helped by the help they get in the evening with white bowl seaming and swinging a lot as compared to Indian innings. However from 94/7 no one expected Sri Lanka to get the close to Indian total but the valiant effort from Sri Lankan captain M.Jayawardne (94 runs of 111 balls) and T.Tushara (30 runs of 70 balls) put on 81 runs to almost bring Sri Lankan’s an impossible win.
Chasing a comparative total of 238 runs Sri Lankan’s were outplayed by the Indian pacers Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar as they removed top four Sri Lankan batters to leave the home side in dire state.
At 59-6 in the 18th over, when Tillekeratne Dilshan fell followed by Chaminda Vaas, there was really no way back into the game for Sri Lanka unless they could manufacture a genuine miracle. They almost did, but India had too much in reserve to win the game with six balls remaining.
Earlier Indian captain M.S.Dhoni once again won the toss and elected to bat first which was once again proved quite right decision. Openers Viral Kohli (25 runs of 38 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (8 runs of 20 balls) did gave India a flying start but they loss there way as they lost four quick wickets.
But it was M.S.Dhoni who involved in two crucial partnerships as India scored 237-9. First he and Raian (53 runs of 80 balls) 54 runs for the fifth wicket and then he put on a quick fire 67 runs with Rohit Sharma (32 runs of 32 balls) to gave India a comparative total.
M.S.Dhoni was declared Man of the Match for his superb knock of 76 runs.
Match Summary
India – 237/9 in 50 Overs
M.S.Dhoni – 76 S.Raina – 53
A.Mendis - 10-0-56-3T.Tushara– 9-1-36-2
Sri Lanka – 204/10 in 49 Overs
M.Jayawardne– 94 T.Thushara – 30
Z.Khan – 10-3-23-3M.Patel– 10-1-42-3
Highlights India Vs Sri Lanka 3rd One Day International
