India v Sri Lanka 2009/10

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Fixture

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India 385 for 6 at stumps on day one

AHMEDABAD: Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck centuries as India reached 385 for six on the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka here Monday.

Dravid was unbeaten on 177 while Dhoni scored 110 to revive India''s innings after Sri Lanka reduced the hosts to 32 for four in the morning session. Dravid added 125 with Yuvraj Singh (68) and 224 with Dhoni.

For Sri Lanka, Chanaka Welegedara took three for 75 and Dammika Prasad got two for 90.

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India make 426 in first Sri Lanka Test

AHMEDABAD: Sri Lanka fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara dismissed Rahul Dravid in the third over of the day as India were bowled out for 426 in their first innings, before lunch, on the second day of first test on Tuesday.

Former captain Dravid failed to improve on his overnight score of 177 as the hosts added 41 runs to their first day total of 385 for six.

Welegedara, playing in a test for the first time in two years, forced Dravid to edge onto the stumps to finish with four for 87 after his three-wicket burst on the opening day had reduced India to 32 for four.

Bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan (12) put on 25before left-arm spinner Rangana Herath had Zaheer dismissed leg-before wicket.

Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan then claimed the wickets of Harbhajan (22) and Ishant Sharma (0) in the same over to finish with three for 97 after left-arm Welegedara took the prized wicket of Dravid.

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SLankan batsmen’s world-record stand of 351 in 1st Test

AHMEDABAD: Sri Lanka piled up 760-7, the highest total ever on Indian soil, before skipper Kumar Sangakkara declared the first innings 40 minutes after lunch on fourth day of the first Test here at the Motera Stadium on Thursday.

Mahela Jayawardene hit a monumental 275 and wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 154 after a world-record stand of 351 for the sixth wicket.

The pair broke the 72-year record set by Australians Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton, who had put on 346 for the sixth wicket against England at Melbourne in 1937.

India began their second innings with confidence in their bid to save the first Test of the three-match series against Sri Lanka.

Openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir saw off the first 16 overs of pace and spin as India, trailing by 334 runs on the first innings, went to tea at 77 for no loss in their second knock.

Sehwag was unbeaten on a typically robust 47 with six boundaries and left-hander Gambhir was on 28.

India had made 426 in their first innings after being reduced to 32-4 within the first hour of the match.

Sri Lanka''s total surpassed India''s 676-7 against the same opponents in Kanpur in 1986, which was the previous highest total in a Test match played on Indian soil.

Mahela Jayawardene batted for eight hours in his sixth double-century that was studded with 27 boundaries and a six.

He was dismissed in the third over after lunch when he shaped to drive leg-spinner Amit Mishra, missed the line and was bowled.

Sangakkara declared at the fall of Dammika Prasad''s wicket, caught in the deep off Harbhajan Singh, leaving Prasanna Jayawardene stranded at the other end.

India claimed the third new ball from the start of the day''s play, but it failed to contain the flow of runs.

Prasanna, who was on 84 overnight, reached his second Test century by edging Ishant Sharma to the third man fence for his eighth boundary.

Mahela, the ninth-highest scorer in Test cricket, completed 9,000 runs when he reached 253 with a single to long-on off Harbhajan.

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Ahmedabad Test heading towards draw, 1376 runs in 4 days

AHMEDABAD: Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 760-7 on fourth day of the first Test here at the Motera stadium on Thursday.

This is the highest ever total on Indian soil before skipper Kumar Sangakkara declared the first innings 40 minutes after lunch.

Sri Lanka''s total surpassed India''s 676-7 against the same opponents in Kanpur in 1986, which was the previous highest total in a Test match played in India.

Former captain Mahela Jayawardene and wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene set a world record making together 351 runs for the sixth wicket partnership.

Mahela hit a monumental 275 while Prasanna remained unbeaten on 154 as the pair broke the 72-year record set by Australians Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton, who had put on 346 for the sixth wicket against England at Melbourne in 1937.

Mahela Jayawardene batted for eight hours in his sixth double-century that was studded with 27 boundaries and a six.

He was dismissed in the third over after lunch when he shaped to drive leg-spinner Mishra, missed the line and was bowled out.

Sangakkara declared at the fall of Dammika Prasad''s wicket, caught in the deep off Harbhajan Singh, leaving Prasanna Jayawardene stranded at the other end.

India claimed the third new ball from the start of the day''s play, but it failed to contain the flow of runs.

Prasanna, who was on 84 overnight, reached his second Test century by edging Ishant Sharma to the third man fence for his eighth boundary.

Mahela, the ninth-highest scorer in Test cricket, completed 9,000 runs when he reached 253 with a single to long-on off Harbhajan.

All the four frontline Indian bowlers conceded over 100 runs with Mishra being the most expensive with 1-203 from 58 overs and Harbhajan going for 2-189 from 48.4 overs.

Trailing by 334 runs on the first innings, the Indians moved to 190-2 in their second knock by stumps.

Gautam Gambhir was unbeaten on 74 and nightwatchman Amit Mishra was on 12, with India facing three tough sessions on the final day to avoid defeat in the first match of the three-Test series.

When India batted, Virender Sehwag smashed a typically robust 51 with seven boundaries in a first-wicket stand of 81 with Gambhir, before he holed out in the deep off left-arm spinner Herath soon after tea.

Rahul Dravid, who made 177 in the first innings, put on 88 for the second wicket with Gambhir before he was declared leg-before to seamer Chanaka Welegedara for 38.

India had made 426 in their first innings after being reduced to 32-4 within the first hour of the match.

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India-Lanka 2nd Test from today

KANPUR: Scoring draw at Ahmedabad, India and Sri Lanka have moved onto Green Park in Kanpur for the second Test which begins tomorrow. Batsmen on both sides have ran into form and the onus now lies on the bowlers to take 20 wickets atleast this time. Harbhajan Singh and Muttiah Muralitharan could be feeling most of the heat in this Kanpur Test after a below par results at Ahmedabad.

The Green Park in Kanpur in general has been a batting paradise but every now and then the Curator had to come up with pitches that are tailor made to suit India. A turning track this time could prove to be a problem for India as they are up against Sri Lanka which has three world class spinners in Murali, Herath and Mendis. The pitch is already talked of taking turn from the third day or so. What it would need is better pace and bounce compared to the one at Ahmedabad so that the batsmen have lesser time to adjust when they do not pick the variations off the bowlers’ hands.

Toss will play a crucial factor in this Test and it is important that the team batting first has to make most by piling up the big scores and control the game thereafter. Sri Lanka are going to make one change atleast with fast bowler Dammika Prasad breaking down with a hamstring injury. The replacements for him could be Dilhara Fernando or Nuwan Kulasekara. There is enough pressure on Sangakkara to bring in Ajantha Mendis and there are only two ways to go about it – Sri Lanka play with just one pacer in Chanaka Welegedara and have three spinners or the other way is to drop Rangana Herath and replace him with Mendis.

The homeside could remain unchanged because of the nature of the wicket. Amit Mishra could still be retained despite a rank bad show in the first Test. Ideally India should bank on a pace attack against Sri Lanka and have Sreesanth to add fire along with Zaheer and Ishant. The Sri Lankan batsmen have shown that they are not so good at handling the short pitch stuff and at the same time have proved that they can toy with the spinners even in their sleep.

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India 535-4 at lunch

KANPUR: India were 535 for fourat lunch on day two of their second test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

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India 639-7 v Sri Lanka at tea

KANPUR:India were 639 for sevenin their first innings at tea on day two of the second test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Scores: India 639-7 (G. Gambhir 167, V. Sehwag 131, R.Dravid 144, R. Herath 3-118)

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India all out for 642 in second Test

KANPUR: Venkatsai Laxman and Yuvraj Singh stroked half-centuries as India reached 642 all out shortly after tea on the second day of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka here on Wednesday.

Laxman (63) hit five fours on the way to his 41st Test half-century while Yuvraj cracked four boundaries and two sixes in his 67-run knock to enthrall a strong 25,000 crowd at the Green Park stadium.

The pair also shared 102 runs for the fifth wicket before Laxman was caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath (5-121).

Herath struck again twice, bowling Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh through the gate to bring some cheer to the Sri Lankan camp in the post-lunch session.

Laxman and the left-handed Yuvraj dominated the second session, mixing caution with aggression in right measure. Yuvraj got down on his knees to launch Muttiah Muralitharan for a huge six over long-on before smacking Ajantha Mendis for two fours in an over, underlining India''s dominance over the spinners on the placid track.

Laxman survived a strong appeal for leg before wicket off Herath although TV replays showed the ball would have clipped his leg-stump.

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Sri Lanka reel from Sreesanth onslaught

KANPUR: Paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth grabbed three quick wickets as India reduced Sri Lanka to 138-5 at lunch on the third day of the second Test here on Thursday.

Sreesanth, 26, marked his comeback to international cricket in style, dismissing Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara, opener Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera in a fiery starting spell.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh chipped in with the wicket of Angelo Mathews (13) to have Sri Lanka reeling in an engrossing first session that saw 72 runs scored at the cost of four wickets.

Mahela Jayawardene was batting on 26 with Prasanna Jayawardene on two at the break. Sri Lanka trail India by 504 runs with five wickets in hand and require another 305 runs to avoid a follow-on.

Replying to India''s imposing first innings score of 642, Sri Lanka''s batsmen resumed the day at 66-1 but failed to build partnerships, with Sreesanth and his new-ball partner Zaheer Khan troubling them with their line and length.

Sreesanth (3-57) gave India an early breakthrough when Paranavitana (38) poked at a wide-ish delivery to be caught by a diving Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.

The right-arm quick, returning to the Indian squad after playing his last Test 19 months ago at the same Green Park Stadium venue, struck again four overs later to remove the other overnight batsman, Sangakkara.

Sangakkara (44) tried to drive the ball through the covers but ended up getting an inside edge onto his stumps. He hit five fours in his 108-ball knock.

Samaraweera (two) was also dismissed playing on to his stumps while attempting a drive. The third and final Test begins in Mumbai on December 2.