By Sirshendu Panth, IANS,
Kolkata: Centurion Upul Tharanga and skipper Kumar Sangakkara capitalised on lapses by butter-fingered Indian fielders to lay a solid foundation as Sri Lanka plundered 315 for six in the fourth One-dayer at the Eden Gardens Thursday.
Fighting for survival at 1-2 down in the five-match series, the islanders were well served by Tharanga (118) and Sangakkara (60) who put on 126 runs for the second wicket to set the stage for a slog-over assault by the middle order. Ninety eight runs came in the last ten overs.
Tharanga’s innings, a delightful medley of caution and aggression, saw him complete his seventh ODI hundred in his 86th match, and was embellished with 14 fours and two sixes during a 128-ball stay in the middle.
The Sri Lankans, who fielded a revamped side in the crucial day-night match bringing in four replacements – the veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, debutant Thissara Perera, Suranga Lakmal and Thilan Samaraweera, set India an asking rate of 6.32 runs per over.
The four players to sit out were Ajantha Mendis, Chanaka Welegedara, Nuwan Kulasekara and Chamara Kapugedara.
Debutant Thissara (31 of 14 balls; 4×4, 1×6) played a cameo in the end as Sri Lanka posted the highest total at the Eden Gardens, erasing their own mark of 309 scored against Pakistan in 1997.
The Sri Lankan innings got off to a slow start as Indian pacers Zaheer Khan (2-49) and Ashish Nehra (2-68) struck the right line and length in the opening overs with the ball moving off the air and at times off the wicket.
Tharanga survived a caught behind appeal early off Nehra and later benefited from a missed caught and bowled effort by the lanky pacer while on 7, before opening up with some deftly executed strokes.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (9) was the first to depart as he tried to pull a short delivery from Nehra and Virat Kohli, replacing the injured Yuvraj Singh in the playing eleven, ran from the backward square to take a diving catch.
Tharanga,24, was particularly savage on a lacklustre Ishant Sharma in the latter’s first over, picking up as many as 20 runs — all with boundaries. It was a delightful exhibition of well-timed cuts and cover drives besides an edge giving the visitors their most productive over.
The veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, returning to the side after having to sit out two games, also started on an aggressive note with two fours off Nehra to get off the mark, but his innings lasted only 15 balls. The 40-year-old put on 41 for the second wicket with Tharanga before edging Zaheer to Sachin Tendulkar at first slip. Sri Lanka
were then 72/2.
Sangakkara, who got a ‘life’ even before opening his account when Harbhajan Singh misjudged a skier at thirdman off Sharma, finally returned after a 72-ball essay that included five hits to the fence.
Mahela Jayawardene (30) and Tharanga then added a useful 36 before the opener played a Zaheer Khan delivery onto his stumps.
Jayawardene (30) who has not been among the runs in the series, showed signs of regaining his touch, but his innings came to an abrupt end when he went for a needless single and the bowler Nehra knocked down the stumps