Story ProgressBack to home
Sri Lanka beat India by 4 wickets
Sri Lanka have defeated India by 4 wickets in the fourth ODI of the Indian Oil tri-series at Dambulla.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:54 AM IST
Read Time:3 min
Dambulla:
Sri Lanka have defeated India by 4 wickets in the fourth ODI of the Indian Oil tri-series at Dambulla. Chasing 221 to win, the hosts achieved their target with two overs to spare, with four wickets in hand. Man of the match Mahela Jayawardene top scored with an unbeaten knock of 94 runs. He was associated in a record 7th wicket partnership with Upal Chandana who made 45 not out. The Indian pace duo of Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji combined forces to put Sri Lanka on the backfoot, reducing the hosts to 36 for 2. Suresh Raina, playing a part in a run out, got rid of captain Marvan Attapatu. And with Sri Lanka at 88 for 3, pacer Ashish Nehra picked up Dilshan Tilakaratne caught behind for wicket number four. Nehra struck again, snaring Russel Arnold leg before. Dilhara Lokuhettige next fell to Harbhajan Singh. But Jayawardene and Chandana made sure the hosts reached the target with 12 balls to spare. Batsmen collapse Earlier, India made just 220 with the loss of 8 wickets after captain Rahul Dravid elected to bat first. Sourav Ganguly, who's back in the team after serving a four-match ban, announced his return with a half-century. He eventually made 51, becoming the third player after Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam-ul Haq to score 10,000 runs. But the Indian batting order collapsed as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Opener Virender Sehwag tried to shake off his bad form, hitting the Sri Lankan seamers at will. He scored 32 runs off 39 balls that included five hits to the fence, but he fell to debutante seamer Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran. Dilshan strikes For the Lankans, Tillekeratne Dilshan was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 4 for 29. First to fall victim to Dilshan was V V S Laxman (22), just before Ganguly's dismissal. India then suffered another blow with skipper Rahul Dravid out to a first ball duck, the result of a lbw to Dilshan. Then Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed, caught and bowled by Dilshan. Suresh Raina (2), the new man at the crease, also departed soon after, again caught and bowled by Dilshan. Next to go was Mohammad Kaif (34), who was caught and bowled by Fervez Maharoof. Harbhajan Singh, the new man at the crease, lasted just two balls, before he was run out by Dilhara Fernando. Irfan Pathan though proved once again that he is handy with the bat as well. The southpaw went on to score 34 off just 27 deliveries with five hits to the boundary. Sri Lanka were without opener Sanath Jayasuriya who dislocated his shoulder during the opening match of the series last week. Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was also rested for the match. Teams: India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji Sri Lanka: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Upul Tharanga, Kumara Sangakkara, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Dilhara Fernando, Ferveez Mahroof, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Pradeep Jayaprakashdaran.(With PTI inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.