The Colombo crowd was treated to a fabulous game of One Day Cricket as India got past the finishing line in a thriller. India were chasing 287 for victory and India reached there with just 2 balls left. Gautam Gambhir scored his 11th ODI ton, but the hero of the match was Suresh Raina who remained not out on 65 off 45 balls. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant knock under pressure. With this 5 wicket win, India go 2-1 up in the series with 2 games left to be played.
Sri Lanka had won the toss and decided to bat first. Sri Lanka lost 3 early wickets and were reduced to 20/3. Zaheer Khan was looking very threatening with the new ball. The two stalwarts of Sri Lankan Cricket, Sangakkara and Jayawardene, then steadied the ship for Sri Lanka. The two put on 121 for the 4th wicket. Jayawardene was dismissed by Rahul Sharma for 65 and Sangakkara by Dinda for 73.
During this innings, Sangakkara suffered a hair line fracture on his hand and will be out for 4-6 weeks. Sri Lanka were 182/5 in 38 overs and were looking in trouble. But Mathews and Jeewan Mendis provided the perfect momentum in the end as Sri Lanka gathered 97 runs in the last 10 overs. They finally finished on 286/5 in 50 overs. Mathews remained not out on 71.
It was a tough ask for the Indians as no team has ever chased 280+ on Sri Lankan soil. Perera once again proved to be the nemesis for Sehwag as he dismissed him for 3. Kohli(38) and Gambhir shared a 105 run stand for the 2nd wicket and then Gambhir and Dhoni added 67. India were 180/2 in 35 overs and were looking in commanding position. But Lasith Malinga got rid of Dhoni(38) and Rohit Sharma(0) in successive deliveries to bring Sri Lanka right back in the contest.
Gautam Gambhir reached his 11th ODI 100 but was soon run out for 102. India were reduced to 196/5 and needed 91 runs in 69 balls. Raina and Pathan kept their cool and played themselves in. It was down to 64 needed in 7 overs. Raina then unleashed himself and smacked 6 fours and a six. He was lucky to be dropped on 19 by Senanayeke. 6 were needed of the last over of Mathews. It was finally down to 3 off 3 and Pathan hit one over mid-wicket to seal a victory for India. Raina and Pathan were involved in a partnership of 92* runs that got India home.
MATCH SUMMARY
SRI
LANKA
|
286/5
(50)
|
Sangakkara-73 (95)
|
Zaheer Khan-2/39
|
Mathews-71* (57)
|
Rahul Sharma-1/45
|
Jayawardene-65 (79)
|
Pathan-1/59
|
Mendis-45* (40)
|
Dinda-1/76
|
INDIA
|
288/5
(49.4)
|
Gambhir-102 (101)
|
Malinga-2/60
|
Raina-65* (45)
|
Herath-1/36
|
Kohli-38 (65)
|
Perera-1/57
|
Pathan-34* (31)
|
India Won By 5 Wickets & Lead Series 2-1
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