Sri Lanka went into the fifth game of the CB series knowing that if they lost it, not only would it be their third consecutive defeat in the series, but they couldn't afford any more losses if they wanted a shot at the finals. India had no such concerns, coming off a confident (if somewhat tight) win against Australia and sticking with the rotation policy that saw Virender Sehwag dropped in favor of Sachin Tendulkar back in the side.
India hold Sri Lanka after Chandimal's half-century
Sri Lanka chose to bat first and got off to another bad start, as Upul Tharanga fell cheaply for the third time in three games. Kumar Sangakkara and Tillekeratne Dilshan consolidated, but Dilshan was dismissed by the returning Irfan Pathan shortly after finding his groove. Sri Lanka in early trouble again at 28/2. Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal played carefully and built a partnership for Sri Lanka, but Sangakkara was gone trying to up the tempo, and at 79/3 after 20 overs, India were in control.
The wicket brought Mahela Jayawardene to the crease, and he and Chandimal set about getting things moving. Chandimal reached a classy half-century, but India hit back to remove both batsmen in consecutive overs, Chandimal for 81 and Jayawardene for 43. 172/3 became 178/5, with India chipping away at the tail and not letting the Sri Lankan batsmen accelerate at the death. It fell to Sachithra Senanayake to biff some quick runs in the last few overs to finish with 22* from 14 balls, as Sri Lanka limped to 236/9.
Gambhir hits 91, but Sri Lanka force a tie
Sachin Tendulkar put the questions over that 100th century to rest when he was the first Indian batsman to fall in the chase, edging Nuwam Kulasekera behind for 15 to give Sri Lanka their first breakthrough at 24/1. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were both dismissed for the same score - 15 - to keep Sri Lanka in the hunt at 94/3, but Gambhir registered his second successive half-century to guide India's chase.
Suresh Raina fell for just 8 to keep the game open at 118/4. Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni held India together to bring the equation down to 59 runs from 60 balls with 6 wickets left, but Gambhir was dismissed in the 90s for the second consecutive game to open the floodgates: despite Dhoni's cool hitting and some sloppy bowling from Sri Lanka, they were sharp in the field and ran through the tail to take the game down to the final over. 9 runs required off 6 balls, with two wickets left. Vinay Kumar was run out off the penultimate ball, and with a boundary required for victory, Dhoni hit the final ball of the game for 3. The scores were level, and the game was tied, with both teams making 236 from their 50 overs.
Sri Lanka finally register a point, but not how they had in mind
So even though Sri Lanka are yet to win a game in this series, and this tie did their chance of making the finals little good, it was an improved showing from them. The batting was, yet again, circumspect, with Upul Tharanga once again failing, the top order not clicking, and Sachithra Senanayake having to revive a dismal innings with what turned out to be a game-saving knock. The bowling was shoddy and loose, the same kind of bowling that let India off the hook in their first game this series, but the fielding compensated to effect four run outs in the Indian innings.
It wasn't enough to win the game, but it's better than a third loss on the trot.
Should India be worried they couldn't close the game?
India might be a little concerned that they came within a hair's breath of fluffing what was looking like an easy chase. Their bowlers had done all the hard work to cut Sri Lanka down after the Chandimal/Jayawardene partnership, but despite the performances from Gambhir and Dhoni - just like in their last game - the rest of the batting were unable to make the most of a good platform and an easy target.
It won't damage India's progression through the tournament, but Australia will be very interested.
Commonwealth Bank Series, Sri Lanka vs. India:
- Sri Lanka 236/9 (Dinesh Chandimal 81, Vinay Kumar 10-1-46-3) in 50 overs, at 4.72 runs an over
- India 236/9 (Gautam Gambhir 92, Lasith Malinga 10-1-53-2) in 50 overs, at 4.72 runs an over
- Match tied; Australia 10 points, India 9 points, Sri Lanka 2 points
- Man of the Match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Scorecard at Cricinfo
Michael Perera - The only rule in writing is honesty. If you're honest, the words will write themselves.
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