By IANS
Canberra : Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a breezy half-century to help Sri Lanka register their first win, a convincing eight-wicket victory over India in a rain-marred match of the Commonwealth Bank Triangular One-day Series here Tuesday.
Dilshan hammered 62 off just 59 balls (6×4, 1×6) and was involved in the match-winning, undefeated third-wicket partnership of 85 with captain Mahela Jayawardene (36 not out, 35 balls, 1×4) to win with two overs to spare at Manuka Oval.
Rain first delayed the start of the match, forcing the umpires to reduce it to 29 overs per innings. India, after being asked to bat by Sri Lanka, scored 195 for five. After more rain at the end of the innings, the Sri Lankan reply was further reduced to 21 overs and they scored 154 for two wickets in 19 overs chasing a readjusted target.
The second spell of showers made Sri Lanka’s task stiffer. When India’s innings, dotted by Rohit Sharma’s career-best 64-ball 70 (6×4, 1×6), finished, their asking rate was 6.75 runs per over. But after another interruption the run rate required by Sri Lanka became 7.33.
Undaunted, Dilshan and Jayawardene went after the Indian bowlers showing remarkable poise and determination. This was after veteran Sanath Jayasuriya’s cameo (27, 13 balls, 2×4, 2×6) and Kumar Sangakkara’s failure (10, 10 balls, 1×4).
This win has brought Sri Lanka well and truly into the reckoning in the championship, though they are still lying third behind leaders India (8 points from 4 matches) and Australia (7 points from 3). At this stage, Australia are best placed in terms of net run rate (+1.146), followed by India (+0.147) and Sri Lanka (-1.675).
It is, however, too early to predict which two teams will contest the best-of-three finals next month as each team plays four matches against the other. Seven matches are still to be played in the league phase.
The next contest is between Australia and Sri Lanka Friday in Perth while India clash with Australia Sunday in Adelaide.
Jayasuriya and Dilshan, encouraged by many of their countrymen in the stands, began the Sri Lanka chase in a whirlwind manner, carting pacer Sreesanth for 11 runs in the opening over, and the team never looked back.
Jayasuriya especially targeted Sreesanth as he hammered 23 off his second over, including two sixes and a four. But pacer Ishant Sharma, who has been rapidly improving and bowling extremely well, got the measure of the former captain when he edged to captain-wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni trying to turn the ball on the leg side.
Dilshan also got into the act, smashing pacer Irfan Pathan for successive boundaries.
Harbhajan Singh provide a ray of hope as in the next over, Kumar Sangakkara mistimed a shot off the very first ball from the off-spinner and Ishant Sharma took the catch at wide mid-on.
Sangakkara’s departure brought Jayawardene to the crease and the brisk scoring continued. The boundaries, though, did not come for seven overs. The barren period was broken when Dilshan pulled Virender Sehwag to the midwicket boundary.
Sreesanth was the most expensive of the Indian bowlers as he conceded 48 in three overs.
Earlier, Rohit scored his career’s second half-century to steady the innings after India had lost Sehwag (14, 18 balls, 2×4) and Sachin Tendulkar (32, 30 balls, 4×4) for just 49.
Gautam Gambhir (35, 33 balls, 3×4) and Dhoni (31, 26 balls, 3×4), playing his 100th match, chipped in with useful scores. During the innings, Dhoni completed 3,000 career runs.
Tendulkar and Sehwag looked good initially. The first two overs were maidens, but then both scored at least one boundary in each of the next five overs. In a Lasith Malinga over, both smashed fours, but in the next over Nuwan Kulasekara had Sehwag caught by Muttiah Muralitharan at third man as he tried to steer the ball.
In the very next over, Farveez Maharoof prised out Tendulkar as he tried to whack the ball without getting to the pitch of it and Kulasekara ran to catch him out at wide to deep third man. But Gambhir and Rohit steadied the innings with a 64-run partnership for the third wicket.
Rohit was then involved in the best stand of the innings as he and Dhoni put on 68 for the fourth wicket at an excellent rate of 8.86 per over. Yuvraj Singh disappointed again and was out just for six. Malinga, Maharoof and Kalusekara took one wicket apiece.