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On the first day, the pitch looked flat, the bowling insipid and the Sri Lankan batsmen were queuing up to have a go at the Indians. Everything changed today. Yesterday's storms and overnight rains had left a damp and seaming pitch and the Indians were on song today. After a long time Ishant Sharma looked threatening as a bowler. It was that kind of a morning. Unexpected things happened. The ball talked. The Indians smiled. And Ishant roared. However, it wasn't all gloom for Sri Lanka. Angelo Mathews sparkled with a lovely cameo and Sri Lanka moved past 350 which can be a daunting total in these conditions.
After a one-sided Test series and an even Twenty20 contest, during which flat pitches and big bats rendered the spinners ineffective, India and Sri Lanka embark upon a five-match ODI series beginning in Rajkot. Chastened by a 2-0 defeat in the Tests, Sri Lanka have a shot at redemption during this final leg of the tour.
The focus will be on Kumar Sangakkara and how he backs his talk with leadership and runs - he did thump exceptional fifties in the Twenty20s. The most interesting sub-plots of the series, though, should be the return of Zaheer Khan to 50-over cricket, and Sanath Jayasuriya's expected move down to the middle order. Jayasuriya's equation in the middle order - where he has not batted regularly since the early 1990s - and his role with the ball as Sri Lanka nurse Muttiah Muralitharan back will be crucial if Sri Lanka are to compete with India. For Sri Lanka these five matches provide an opportunity to assess their one-day prospects and identify areas they need to work on. Match preview by cricinfo
The 3rd day of final Test Match of the Sri lanka tour of India is scheduled in between India and Sri Lanka today at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on December 04, 2009.
Arguments about Muttiah Muralitharan's declining effectiveness can wait for another time. This was a day instead to marvel at the magnificence of a man who defies any sort of categorisation or pigeon-holing. Cricket is a non-contact sport, but watching Virender Sehwag bat is as visceral an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in his prime. On Thursday afternoon, Sehwag toyed with the greatest offspinner to play the game as though he were some glorified net bowler. He might as well have been, as India overhauled Sri Lanka's total of 393 in 67.5 overs. But for back spasms that restricted him to a more mortal scoring-rate in the last half hour, Sehwag might have become only the second batsman after Sir Donald Bradman to score 300 runs in a day.
Each monumental Sehwag innings has left a trail of destruction in its wake. At the MCG in 2003, it was Stuart MacGill's turn to look like a pie-thrower as he galloped to 195 in just five hours. In Multan, Shoaib Akhtar was reduced to feeble sledges. Sehwag's response was just to compare him to a beggar. In Chennai against the best Australian side ever, he careered to 155 on a pitch where few others had managed any sort of fluency. In front of the imposing Galle Fort last year, he dictated the course of a Test with an innings that combined absolute control and appetite for destruction with admirable restraint. Article by Cricinfo.
The second day of final Test Match of the Sri lanka tour of India is scheduled in between India and Sri Lanka today at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on December 3rd, 2009.
India's opening combination had changed, but the Kanpur story seemed to be repeating itself as M Vijay and Virender Sehwag launched into the Sri Lankan bowlers after India had taken 27 minutes to take the last two wickets on the second morning. Angelo Mathews raced from 86 to 98 in no time, but having endured anxious moments on that score, he ran himself out when coming back for the second run that would have got him a maiden hundred.
Vijay, playing his second Test, both because of Gautam Gambhir's unexpected absence, started positively, flicking Chanaka Welegedara over square leg in the first over. Vijay dominated the strike in the first three overs, and when Sehwag got a full over to face, he started with an on-drive off Nuwan Kulasekara, wide of mid-on.
Whatever little swing the new-ball bowlers got had disappeared by then, and Sehwag unleashed an array of cuts, cover-drives, on-drives and flicks. The only blip after that came when Welegedara got one to seam away from him in the ninth over. By then both openers had reached 20, and India 41. With Vijay batting sensibly, but not slowly, it hardly seemed Gambhir was missing.
Sehwag soon overtook Vijay and widened the gap between the scores. Rangana Herath, bowling before Muttiah Muralitharan, was not welcomed kindly. Sehwag lofted him for a six in the first over, chipped him over mid-off when he saw a long-on in place, and then Vijay cover-drove him for four in the next over.
Kulasekara came back for another spell but didn't have an impact. Herath, meanwhile, was hit for another six, and Sehwag reached his fifty off 54 balls. It was a sign of the times that when Murali came on to bowl, in the last over before lunch, he had a long-on in place. As if to reiterate his presence, Vijay drove the last ball before the interval, against the spin, for a four that took him to 38. The article source by Cricinfo
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Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara won the toss and he elected to bat first.
Match Points :~ India (Point 0), Sri Lanka (Points 5)
Match Result:~ Sri Lanka won the match by 139 runs!
Man of the match:~ AD Mathews (Sri Lanka) 6/20
The Compaq Cup 3rd One Day International match scheduled in between India and Sri Lanka played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (neutral venue) on 11 September 2009 day/night (50-over match)!
The third ODI match of the India in Sri Lanka is scheduled in between Sri Lanka and India today at 2.30 Pm at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on 03 February 2009.
Ishant ruined the Sri Lankan hope of leveling the series, India pulled off a thriller over Sri Lanka:
India is on the verge of winning another feather of glory outside India. India has extended the lead over Sri Lanka to go up 2-0 in the five match series. It was an alround show by the Indians with some extra-ordinary effort from the young gun Ishant Sharma. But once the host were 4 down with less than 15 overs remaining in the match, there was almost a faint chance that they can pull up a victory in that situation. But some heroics from Thilan Kadamby put the Indians under some pressure for a moment or so.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in the first day-night match of the series. India had a poor start as Sachin was once again the victim of a bad lbw decision from Jerling. Its been two in a row for the master blaster. Gambhir and Sehwag tried to put a partnership but it was soon broken when Gambhir tried to glide a ball to the third man area and managing an edge in stead. Sehwag also departed soon trying an extra-ordinary shot. Yuvraj and Raina built a partnership but there also came the problem of bad decision. He was ruled lbw of an inside edge. At the end India finished up at 257/9 with Mendis picking up 3 wickets.
Sri Lanka was put under pressure straight away as soon as they came out to bat. None of the top order could fire under the fierce spell of Ishant, Zaheer and Praveen Kumar. The trio almost gave nothing away for the host. Captain Jayawardhane and Kadamby put up a partnership compiling the Indian spinners. But they were held by Indian spinner Ojha. Kadamby tried his best to turn things around after the fall of Sri Lankan captain with the tail-enders. But his herculean effort went in vain as he ran out of partners and the pile of runs were more than enough to keep them at bay 15 runs apart from the victory. Ishant Sharma was the man-of-the-match with four wickets in his wicket column.
The Second ODI match of the India in Sri Lanka is scheduled in between Sri Lanka and India today at 2.30 Pm at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on 31st January 2009.
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