More than 600 runs in a day

A target of 300-plus was daunting, but the Indian batsmen rose to the challenge. K. C. Vijaya Kumar reports.

In a must-win game, with a 300 plus target and the words ‘do or die’ ringing in their ears, M. S. Dhoni’s men found enough strength in their willows to defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a STAR Asia Cup semifinal league match at the National Stadium in Karachi.

The loss to Pakistan that briefly paused India’s run to the final, was quickly forgotten as Virender Sehwag (42) and Gautam Gambhir (68) waltzed to a 92-run partnership off 70 deliveries. This negated any fears of not being able to reach Sri Lanka’s 308 for eight in 50 overs. “It was important that we had a good start and Sehwag and Gambhir did that as they have been doing all through the tournament,” Dhoni said.

The skipper too played a crucial role. His 67 (62b, 5x4, 1x6) and the 99-run third-wicket partnership with Suresh Raina (54), ensured that the middle overs went by with no damage while Muralitharan’s spells were on. Dhoni, who won the ‘Man of the Match’ award, and Raina, largely stuck to singles and twos in an alliance that was more steel and less silk.

Dhoni did hoist Jayasuriya to ease his arms, but largely stuck to his recent paradigm of scoring steady runs. Later after he and Raina fell, Yuvraj Singh ensured that the last steps to the winning post were a hop, skip and jump affair and sealed it with a cover drive as India scored 310 for four in 46.5 overs. Later in a verbal volley fired in the post match press conference, Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said: “Their young batsmen take their chances. It would be interesting how they handle the pressure in the final.”

With Kumar Sangakkara unable to extend his run-spree in the tournament, as evident from three centuries in the last fortnight, the Sri Lankan innings rested on Sanath Jayasuriya’s (43) initial thrust and subsequent contributions from Jayawardene (50) and top-scorer Kapugedera (75, 78b, 7x4, 1x6) and their 78-run third-wicket partnership. Jayawardene, however, holed out in the deep and with Chamara Silva (50) too failing to extend his tenure, the Sri Lankans suffered from a loss of rhythm in the slog. “I guess we fell short by about 20, 30 runs. All of us after getting set, kept getting out and that slowed us down a bit, but 300 was a good total. May be on these pitches 400 might be safe,” Jayawardene said.

For the Indian team, the outing on the field continued to be sluggish with energy levels and chirpy fielders proving to be elusive. With a packed season ahead, the think-tank needs to do something quickly to correct this malady. “I am going on my reserve energy my friend,” quipped Dhoni after the match when asked about his cramps. Hopefully, the tired legs will get due rest in the days ahead, though the Indians might have been tempted to do the bhangra after pulling off a victory under intense pressure!

The Scores

Asia Cup Super Four: India v Sri Lanka, National Stadium, Karachi, July 3, 2008.

Result: India won by six wickets.

Sri Lanka: S. Jayasuriya c Dhoni b Ishant Sharma 43, K. Sangakkara c Dhoni b Ishant 7, M. Jayawardene c Gambhir b Ojha 50, C. Kapugedera lbw b Praveen Kumar 75, C. Silva (run out) 50, T. Dilshan c R. P. Singh b Irfan Pathan 15, K. Weeraratne c Gambhir b R. P. Singh 23, T. Thushara (run out) 23, N. Kulasekara (not out) 6, M. Muralitharan (not out) 1. Extras (b-1, lb-11, w-3): 15. Total (for eight wkts. in 50 overs): 308.

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-71, 3-149, 4-217, 5-245, 6-263, 7-287, 8-307.

India bowling: R. P. Singh 10-1-44-1, Ishant 10-0-55-2, Irfan 10-0-80-1, Praveen 6-0-36-1, Ojha 10-0-55-1, Sehwag 3-0-22-0, Rohit Sharma 1-0-4-0.

India: G. Gambhir lbw b Muralitharan 68, V. Sehwag c Fernando b Kulasekara 42, S. Raina (run out) 54, M. Dhoni b Muralitharan 67, Yuvraj Singh (not out) 36, Rohit Sharma (not out) 22. Extras (lb-11, w-9, nb-1): 21. Total (for four wkts. in 46.5 overs): 310.

Fall of wickets: 1-92, 2-135, 3-234, 4-253.

Sri Lanka bowling: Dilhara Fernando 9-0-52-0, Kulasekara 9.5-0-71-1, Thushara 8-0-67-0, Muralitharan 10-0-44-2, Weeraratne 5-0-36-0, Jayasuriya 3-0-19-0, Dilshan 2-0-10-0.