Southpaw smashes 91 as hosts seal series with six-wicket victory in third one-dayer
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan plays a shot en route to his 91 during the third ODI against Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. India won by six wickets. - P. SURENDRA
Hyderabad: The one-sided script of the inspid series remained unchanged. It was an open and shut case again as Shikhar Dhawan slammed a nifty 91 to help the hosts make a mockery of the five-match series and seal it with a third straight win here on Sunday night. The Lankan Lions were left severely wounded with two matches still to play. Given the kind of form the Indian batsmen are in, a total of 242 was never going to be difficult to get. The top four duly reasserted their might yet again to complete the chase with 5.5 overs to spare and sent the 30,000 plus crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium into raptures.
Dhawan continued his dream run to smash eight boundaries a six in his 79-ball knock that knocked the stuffing out of the weary visitors. The opener was strong off his front foot, a few thundering shots right over the bowlers’ heads standing testimony to that statement. Dhawan put on 62 runs for the first wicket in company of the astute Ajinkya Rahane (31) and then raised 69 and 70 runs with A.T. Rayudu (35) and Virat Kohli (53) respectively before his unfortunate dismissal.
It was indeed nervous nineties for the left-hander, who tried to evade a Nuwan Kulasekara bouncer but the faint edge landed in wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara’s gloves. Local lad Rayudu, who was looking good, too was unlucky. He was run out after a sheer misunderstanding with Dhawan.Captain Kohli then took charge of the proceedings to wrap up the match. On the way, he completed a well-deserved half-century and triggered a roaring response from the spectators when he kissed his bat and romantically blew it in the direction of his applauding girlfriend, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma.
Kohli fell when India were within touching distance. Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene held the Lankan innings with a brilliant 118. After his side’s poor start, the seasoned batsman first stitched a solidifying stand of 105 for the third wicket with Tillekeratne Dilshan (53). Their partnership had begun to grow stronger when captain Kohli threw the ball to Rayudu, a part-time wicketkeeper! The Hyderabadi turned his arm over to bowl off-spin, intimidated the Lankan opener by threatening to break down the stumps after fielding a firm shot in his follow through, an action that prompted Dilshan to go for the big hit next ball, only for a leaping Ajinkya Rahane to complete the catch at extra cover.
Jayawardene then built another superb stand, that of 67 for the eighth wicket with tailender Seekkuge Prasanna to help the visitors cross the 200-run mark. In the meantime, the Lankan legend brought up his century in style, hoisting Axar Patel over midwicket for a massive six to move from 95 to 101, in the 40th over. He rallied on quite a bit later as well till he charged down the track against Ashwin to be stumped by Saha in the 45th over. That ended his tenacious three-hour stay at the wicket during which he faced 124 balls, 12 of which crashed against the boundary and one sailed over it.
Scorecard
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera c Saha b Yadav 4, Tillakaratne Dilshan c Rahane b Rayudu 53, Kumar Sangakkara c Ashwin b Yadav 0, Mahela Jayawardene st Saha b Ashwin 118, Angelo Mathews c Kohli b Patel 10, Ashan Priyanjan c Yadav b Patel 2, Chaturanga de Silva c Dhawan b Patel 2, Thisara Perera c (sub) b Yadav 1, Seekkuge Prasanna b Yadav 29, Nuwan Kulasekara c Rahane b Kulkarni 7, Lahiru Gamage (not out) 0. Extras (lb3, w11, nb2) 16. Total (in 48.2 overs) 242.
FoW: 1-5, 2-7, 3-112, 4-144, 5-148, 6-154, 7-158, 8-225, 9-238.
Bowling: Umesh Yadav 9-0-53-4, Dhawal Kulkarni 9.2-0-58-1, Ishant Sharma 4-1-14-0, Axar Patel 10-1-40-3, Ashwin 10-0-43-1, Suresh Raina 3-0-15-0, Ambati Rayudu 3-0-16-1.
India: Ajinkya Rahane c Jayawardene b Perera 31, Shikhar Dhawan c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 91, Ambati Rayudu (run out) 35, Virat Kohli c Gamage b Dilshan 53, Suresh Raina (not out) 18, Wriddhiman Saha (not out) 6. Extras (lb2, w8, nb1) 11. Total (for four wickets in 44.1 overs 245.
FoW: 1-62, 2-131, 3-201, 4-236.
Bowling: Nuwan Kulasekara 8-0-37-1, Lahiru Gamage 6-0-50-0, Seekkuge Prasanna 9-0-43-0, Thisara Perera 7-0-33-1, Chaturanga de Silva 5-0-45-0, Angelo Mathews 3-0-17-0, Tillakaratne Dilshan 4-0-10-1, Ashan Priyanjan 2.1-1-8-0.
( Source : dc )
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