By IANS
Canberra : India’s one-day team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni played his 100th match Tuesday and celebrated the occasion by becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 3,000 runs.
Dhoni, 26, has already effected 100 dismissals, which makes him the first Indian wicketkeeper to accomplish a double of 3,000 runs and 100 dismissals. However, Dhoni ended up on the losing side as Sri Lanka defeated India by eight wickets in the Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series.
After 90 innings, Dhoni’s aggregate is 3,011 runs at an average of 44.94. Only three Indian batsmen have made more runs than Dhoni after 90 innings — Navjot Singh Sidhu (3,469 runs, average 42.30), Sourav Ganguly (3,424, average 41.76) and Rahul Dravid (3,056, average 36.82).
Dhoni is averaging 86.50 in the competition after scoring 173 in four innings at a strike rate of 73.30. But in-form Gautam Gambhir is the current leading run-getter in the series with 197 in four innings at 65.66 with a strike rate of 86.40.
Rohit Sharma posted his career-best score, a superb 70 not out off 64 balls which was his second half-century. He obliterated his previous highest of 52 against Pakistan in Jaipur November 18 last year.
With this innings, Sharma equalled the highest individual score recorded at this venue. South Africa’s Kepler Wessels had made 70 off 137 balls against Zimbabwe in 1992.
Sachin Tendulkar, during the course of his 32-run knock, became the first batsman to amass 2,500 runs against Sri Lanka. He now has 2,503 at 45.50 in 67 games. Having already aggregated 2,500 runs against Australia, Tendulkar is now the only batsman to accomplish the feat of completing 2,500 runs against two opponents.
Pacer Sreesanth bowled at an economy rate of 16.00 – the worst ever performance by any bowler in a three-over spell in ODIs. His own previous worst economy rate in an innings was 9.30 when he conceded 3.2-0-31-0 against South Africa at Centurion Park in 2006.