Gritty Gauti, Virat seal series

Dec. 24: The task appeared a daunting one when both Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were sent back by young Suranga Lakmal with the scorecard reading 23 in the fourth over. But Gautam Gambhir (150 not out) and young Virat Kohli (107) had different ideas as they set up a series-deciding seven-wicket win at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
After Upul Tharanga ((118) had given Sri Lanka a platform to build towards their eventual total of 315/6, Gambhir and Kohli found boundaries at regular intervals to ensure that the required rate was kept in check.
Adding 224 runs off just 214 balls, the duo all but saw India home with with 11 balls to spare and an unassailable lead.
As a result of the evening dew, the Lankan bowlers found it extremely difficult to grip the ball Having impressed with the bat, debutant Thissara Perera had a forgettable outing with the ball. Sehwag took him on in the very first over of India’s innings with Perera conceding 12.
After the captain’s dismissal, it was the turn of Gambhir and Kohli to squeeze the most out of the inexperienced all-rounder.
Seasoned campaigner Lasith Malinga was a big disappointment as he eased the pressure off Gambhir and Kohli with his erratic bowling at a stage when dew had not yet taken effect.

SCOREBOARD
sri lanka

Upul Tharanga b Zaheer 118, Tillakaratne Dilshan c Kohli b Nehra 9, Sanath Jayasuriya c Tendulkar b Zaheer 15, Kumar Sangakkara st Karthik b Harbhajan 60, Mahela Jayawardene run out 33, Thissara Perera c Jadeja b Nehra 31, Thilina Kandamby n.o. 23, Thilan Samaraweera n.o. 13.
Extras (lb3, w10) 13
Total (for six wickets in 50 overs) 315
FoW: 1-31, 2-72, 3-198, 4-234, 5-271, 6-287.
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 10-0-49-2, Ashish Nehra 9-1-68-2, Ishant Sharma 7-0-67-0, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-53-1, Ravindra Jadeja 9-1-51-0, Virender Sehwag 3-0-15-0, Suresh Raina 2-0-9-0.

india

Virender Sehwag c Dilshan b Lakmal 10, Sachin Tendulkar c Randiv b Lakmal 8, Gautam Gambhir n.o. 150, Virat Kohli c sub (Pushpakumara) b Randiv 107, Dinesh Karthik n.o. 19.
Extras (lb5, w16, nb2) 23
Total (for 3 wickets in 48.1 overs) 317
FoW: 1-13, 2-23, 3-247.
Bowling: Thissara Perera 9-0-66-0, Suranga Lakmal 10-0-55-2, Lasith Malinga 9.1-0-75-0, Suraj Randiv 10-0-57-1, Sanath Jayasuriya 7-0-42-0, Tillakaratne Dilshan 3-0-17-0.