INDIA with a comprehensive win , pushed Sri Lanka further towards their first 5-0 whitewash in one-day internationals.
The victory was built around Gautam Gambhir’s personal best 150 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 94 from No. 3, innings that helped set Sri Lanka a target of 333. SRILANKA allout for just 265.
India have won convincingly here. Sri Lanka started off well in the run chase and even when Sangakkara and Jayawardene were batting in the initial few overs, it seemed as though their team was still in the hunt. However, there was an unexpected interruption, and what followed was a fairly dull affair. Both the batsmen struggled to force the pace after the break, struggled against Ojha and Sehwag – Sri Lanka failed to score a boundary in 21 overs – and there was an air of inevitability surrounding their eventual downfall. Irfan Pathan had a satisfactory comeback, taking three wickets, albeit proving a little costly. Kulasekara provided some mild entertainment towards the end, but Sri Lanka never looked like they were going to win during their sudden change of gears in the middle passage.
Their only highlight of the day was Murali’s record, but the fact that it has taken him four matches to take the three wickets he needed at the start of the series to overtake Wasim Akram is an indication of how well India’s batsmen have handled him. India have now won nine consecutive games – their best winning streak in ODIs – and Sri Lanka have one more match to salvage something out of what’s been a distressing series.
Murali is being felicitated at the presentation ceremony for his record. Well, not really, but there are some fireworks in the background.
Gautam Gambhir is the Man of the Match.
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