India v Sri Lanka 2009/10

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Fixture

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India in sight of huge win against Sri Lanka

KANPUR: Indian fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth grabbed six wickets on his comeback to leave Sri Lanka facing an innings defeat in the second Test on
Thursday.

The 26-year-old captured five for 75 to dismiss Sri Lanka for 229 in the first innings and help India clinch a 413-run lead, the hosts having amassed 642 on electing to bat first.

Forced to follow on, Sri Lanka were 57 for four at stumps after Sreesanth provided the early breakthrough by removing attacking opener Tillakaratne Dilshan for 11.

Any Sri Lankan hopes of salvaging a draw were dashed when the other opener Tharanga Paranavitana (20), Mahela Jayawardene (10), who was run out, and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (11) fell cheaply.

At the close of the third day, Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews were batting as Sri Lanka faced the prospect of a huge defeat.

Sreesanth forced Dilshan to edge a delivery to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni before Indian bowlers made quick inroads into a tense Sri Lankan batting line-up.

Occasional off-spinner Virender Sehwag trapped Paranavitana leg before and Jayawardene was run out following a mix-up going for a risky single before Sangakkara played on to the stumps for a second time, against off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Playing his first Test since facing South Africa in Kanpur in April 2008, Sreesanth was at his fiery best, claiming his second five-wicket innings haul in Tests.

Sreesanth produced brilliant spells of swing bowling in all three sessions to leave Sri Lanka in disarray on a Green Park pitch where spin had been predicted as the chief weapon.

A temperamental player who had been plagued by injury and disciplinary woes, Sreesanth was a picture of calm as he kept a tight line and smoothly switched to either side of the wicket.

He struck his first blow in the morning''s sixth over when he forced Paranavitana to nick a delivery which swung late, keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni taking a diving catch to his left.

It ended an 82-run second-wicket partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who was out for 44 soon after.

Having played himself in, Sangakkara dragged a wide delivery on to the stumps and Thilan Samaraweera (2) also edged a wild drive against the paceman on to the stumps.

Mahela Jayawardene (47) and Prasanna Jayawardene (39), who both hit centuries in the drawn first test, added 60 runs for the sixth wicket before Sreesanth struck after lunch.

He had Prasanna Jayawardene caught behind chasing a wide delivery and Mahela Jayawardene also paid the penalty 10 runs later, lofting a catch off debutant left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha to mid-on.

Sreesanth then bowled tail-ender Rangana Herath (11) to claim his five-wicket haul before spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ojha, who took two wickets each, wrapped it up seven overs after Sri Lanka had hobbled to tea at 219 for eight.

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India thrash Sri Lanka by innings & 144 runs

KANPUR: India thumped Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs on the fourth day of the second cricket Test here on Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

It was the 100th Test victory for India and the biggest against Sri Lanka, bettering the previous win by an innings and 119 runs achieved way back in 1994 at Lucknow.

Sri Lanka, tottering at 206-8 by lunch in their follow on, lost their remaining two wickets late into the second session to be bowled out for 269 at the Green Park stadium.

Thilan Samaraweera remained unbeaten on a defiant 78 off 213 balls after sharing a 73-run partnership with Ajantha Mendis to frustrate the Indians.

But it was India who dominated Sri Lanka right through the match, piling on 642 in their first innings before bowling out the visitors for 229 to take a huge 413-run lead.

India were indebted to Gautam Gambhir (167), Rahul Dravid (144) and Virender Sehwag (131) whose big knocks gave the bowlers a huge cushion of runs.

Paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, named man of the match, then chose his comeback Test to resurrect his sagging career, picking 5-75 in the first innings and one more in the second to finish with 6-122.

He had played his last Test at the same venue against South Africa in April last year.

It was always going to be an uphill task for the Sri Lankans, who started the day at 57-4, trailing India by 356 runs on the first innings.

Left-arm Indian paceman Zaheer Khan was the first to strike when he tempted Angelo Mathews (15) into a pull shot after the batsman had hit him for three fours in a row.

The ball took the top edge of Mathew''s bat and Dravid, fielding at gully, dived to his right to take a fine catch.

Samaraweera waged a grim fightback, putting on 61 runs in the company of Prasanna Jayawardene, who scored 154 in the drawn first Test at Ahmedabad.

But Samaraweera ran out of partners with spinners Harbhajan Singh (3-98) and Pragyan Ojha (2-36) combining to send back Prasanna (29), Rangana Herath (13) and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Muralitharan provided brief entertainment with three fours and two sixes in his knock of 29, before being bowled by debutant left-arm spinner Ojha.

The third and final Test begins in Mumbai on December 2.

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India win series 2-0, beating Sri Lanka by innings & 24 runs

MUMBAI: India secured top spot in the Test rankings for the first time after handing Sri Lanka a second successive innings defeat and wrapping up their three-match series 2-0 on Sunday.

Zaheer Khan took three more wickets to record his eighth five-wicket haul as India won the third and final Test by an innings and 24 runs on the final day.

Left-arm Zaheer dismissed overnight century-maker Kumar Sangakkara (137) caught behind in the day''s opening over to kill off any hopes Sri Lanka had of saving the test.

Resuming on 274-6 and needing 60 runs to make India bat a second time, Sangakkara edged the third ball to wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni.

Zaheer then dismissed Rangana Herath (three) and overnight batsman Nuwan Kulasekara (19) in a fiery four-over spell to finish with five for 72.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh then dismissed Muttiah Muralitharan for 14 as India wrapped up the tail in 7.4 overs.

The 2-0 series victory saw India jump from third in the rankings to displace South Africa at the top. Sri Lanka dropped from second place to fourth, behind Australia.

Opener Virender Sehwag, named player of the match and the series, scored a spectacular 293 and Dhoni cracked 100 not out to guide India to their highest innings total of 726 for nine declared.

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a century and Angelo Mathews missed out on his maiden century by one run in Sri Lanka''s first-innings 393.

India opened up 1-0 lead by winning the second test by an innings and 144 runs after the first Test ended in a draw.

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Sangakkara powers Sri Lanka to T20 win against India

NAGPUR: Kumar Sangakkara smashed a career-best 78 off just 37 balls to set up Sri Lanka''s 29-run win in the first Twenty20 international against India here on Wednesday.

Sangakkara smashed 11 fours and two sixes to help Sri Lanka amass 215-5 before Angelo Mathews and Sanath Jayasuriya picked two wickets each to restrict India to 186-9 in 20 overs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium.

The Indians were set back by the early dismissal of the explosive Virender Sehwag, caught at deep point off paceman Nuwan Kulasekara (1-36). His 14-ball 26 contained three fours and a six.

The in-form Gautam Gambhir (55) tried to counter-attack, hitting the second fastest Twenty20 half-century, off 19 balls, with the help of 11 fours, but fell while trying to paddle sweep Mathews in the ninth over.

Spurred by the key wicket of Gambhir, the islanders triggered a middle-order collapse to register their first win on the tour after losing the preceding Test series 2-0.

Sangakkara earlier played a captain''s knock, putting on 74 runs in 6.1 overs for the second wicket with Tillakaratne Dilshan (34) after the visitors were put in to bat.

Sangakkara, 32, hit left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for two fours and a six to race to his fourth half-century in his 19th Twenty20 international before being run out off the last ball of the innings.

Chamara Kapugedera further boosted the total with a quickfire 47 off 20 balls with seven boundaries and a six.

India paid the price for some sloppy fielding with Yuvraj Singh dropping a sitter at point when Jayasuriya (26) was on two, the unlucky bowler being Ishant Sharma.

But Jayasuriya, who slammed Ashish Nehra for five fours in an over, could not make the most of the reprieve, with Ishant taking a fine catch off debutant Ashok Dinda.

Dilshan, dropped on 13 by Ishant off his own bowling, combined with Sangakkara to take Sri Lanka to 89-1 after 10 overs before being bowled by a yorker from Rohit Sharma.

India struck again to remove Mahela Jayawardene cheaply for nine but Kapugedera and Sangakkara made light of the setback, unleashing a flurry of hits to the fence to unsettle the Indians.

The second and final Twenty20 match will be played in Mohali on Saturday.

[R. M. Dixit]

In first 20-20 cricket match between
India and Sri Lanka. Lanka defeated India
by 29 runs. Indian team seems to be over
confidence after winning Test Match series
by 2-0 over Sri Lanka but it was reversed.
Lagta hai jeet ki sari khumari uter gayi.
Sankara of Lanka played excellent innings
of 78 runs in 37 balls. Unsatisfactory fielding
dropping 5 catches is one of the main reasons,
India lost the match. Compiled by RM Dixit

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SLanka bat against India in second T20 match

MOHALI: Sri Lanka''s captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat in the second Twenty20 international against India here on Saturday.

Sri Lanka won the first match in Nagpur on Wednesday by 29 runs.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Chinthaka Jayasinghe.

Umpires: Sanjay Hazare (IND) and Shavir Tarapore (IND)

TV Umpire: Sudhir Asnani (IND)

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

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Sangakkara lifts Sri Lanka to 207-7 against India

MOHALI: Kumar Sangakkara played a captain''s knock of 59 from 31 balls to fire Sri Lanka to 206-7 in the second Twenty20 international against India here on Saturday.

The left-hander, who starred in his team''s 29-run victory in the first match in Nagpur on Wednesday with a superb 78 off 37 balls, smashed eight boundaries and two sixes.

Chinthaka Jayasinghe chipped in with 38 from 28 balls and Angelo Mathews hit an unbeaten 26, including a six off the last ball of the innings from seamer Ashish Nehra.

India, who dropped five catches and conceded 17 wides, face a stiff target of 10.4 runs an over under lights to draw the two-match series.

Sangakkara and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya plundered 81 in 39 balls for the second wicket after danger man Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled by Ishant Sharma for one in the second over.

Jayasuriya made 31 off 21 balls with five fours and a six before he was trapped leg-before by off-spinner Yusuf Pathan.

Sangakkara himself fell in the 11th over when he holed out in the deep off Yuvraj Singh, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Saturday with 3-23 from three overs.

The lower order batsmen kept a good pace as the Indian fielding wilted in the cold weather.

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Yuvraj leads India to record T20 win

MOHALI: Yuvraj Singh took 3-23 and smashed an unbeaten 60 off 25 balls on his 28th birthday as India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets on Saturday to draw the two-match Twenty20 series 1-1.

India, who lost the first match in Nagpur on Wednesday by 29 runs, chased down Sri Lanka''s challenging 206-7 with five balls to spare at the Punjab Cricket Association ground here.

It was the highest successful chase in the shortest form of the game, surpassing South Africa''s 208-2 against the West Indies in the World Twenty20 in Johannesburg in September 2007.

Virender Sehwag set up the record run spree with 64 off 36 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes, and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chipped in with a quick fire 46.

But Yuvraj took the game away from the Sri Lankans with five sixes, the last off Angelo Mathews clinching the match for the hosts.

India, set a stiff target of 10.4 runs an over under lights, made a rollicking start when Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir hammered 58 for the first wicket by the sixth over.

Gambhir was run out for 21 attempting a third run, but Dhoni joined Sehwag to add 50 in 30 balls for the second wicket.

Yuvraj plundered 23 runs in the 16th over bowled by seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, which included two sixes and two boundaries.

Sri Lanka''s innings was boosted by a captain''s knock from Kumar Sangakkara, who made 59 from 31 balls after winning the toss and electing to bat.

The left-hander, who hit a superb 78 off 37 balls in Nagpur, smashed eight boundaries and two sixes.

Chinthaka Jayasinghe made 38 from 28 balls and Angelo Mathews hit an unbeaten 26, including a six off the last ball of the innings from seamer Ashish Nehra.

Sangakkara and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya plundered 81 in 39 balls for the second wicket after danger man Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled by Ishant Sharma for one in the second over.

Jayasuriya made 31 off 21 balls with five fours and a six.

Sangakkara fell in the 11th over when he holed out in the deep off Yuvraj, the first of three wickets for the left-arm spinner.

The two teams will now play five one-day internationals starting in Rajkot on Tuesday.

India had won the preceding Test series 2-0 to go on top of the official world rankings.

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SLanka ask India to bat in first one-dayer

RAJKOT: Sri Lanka''s captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and sent India in to bat in the first one-day international here on Tuesday.

Both teams were hit by injuries at the start of the five-match series, with India missing explosive batsman Yuvraj Singh and Sri Lanka being without the services of Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Thilan Samaraweera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dilhara Fernando, Chanaka Welegedara.

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Amish Saheba (IND)
TV umpire: Sanjay Hazare (IND)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

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India make record 414 against SL in first ODI

RAJKOT: Virender Sehwag smashed 146 off 102 balls as India piled up their highest One-day total of 414/7 against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

The swashbuckling opener hit 17 boundaries and six sixes after the tourists won the toss and elected to field in good batting conditions at the Madhavrao Scindia stadium.

The run riot on a ground with shorter boundaries enabled India to just surpass their previous One-day record of 413-5 against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

It was also the fifth-highest score in One-day cricket overall, fuelled by a blazing start to the five-match series as Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar hammered 153 for the first wicket by the 20th over.

Tendulkar, the world''s leading Test and One-day batsman, made 69 off 63 balls with 10 fours and a six before he was bowled by Dilhara Fernando.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni continued the batting feast as he added 156 for the second wicket with Sehwag, before both batsmen fell in successive overs.

Dhoni hit seven boundaries and three sixes in 72 off 53 balls.

Sehwag top-edged an intended flick off left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara to Tillakaratne Dilshan at point in the 36th over.


India, who were sailing along at 309-1, lost five wickets in the space of 43 runs to slip to 352-6 by the 44th over.

Young all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja hit an unbeaten 30 off 17 balls to help India record their biggest total.

Welegedara, Nuwan Kulasekara and Fernando finished with two wickets each.

India had won the preceding Test series 2-0 and both teams won one Twenty20 international each.