India choke yet again as Lankan lions lift tri-series

India crumbled under pressure yet again in a final as the Lankan batsmen held their nerve to clinch a thriller and win the tri-series final by 4 wkts.

Vaibhav Arora/Pratik Dogra

Mirpur: India crumbled under pressure yet again in a final as the Sri Lankan batsmen held their nerve to clinch a thriller and win the tri-series final by 4 wickets. Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with 71 and remained unbeaten to guide the Lankans home even as India kept up the pressure with wickets at regular intervals. Tillakaratne Dilshan (49) and Kumar Sangakkara (55) were other significant contributors in the Sri Lankan innings. For India, Harbhajan Singh took two wickets while Ashish Nehra, who had to retire after sending down just 8 deliveries, Yuvraj Singh and Ravindra Jadeja took a wicket each. Nuwan Kulasekara, who was declared the Man of the Match, was the wrecker-in-chief during the first session as he broke the Indian back with 4 wickets. Struggling at 60/5 at one stage, the Indian innings found some respectability, thanks largely to a brilliant ton from Suresh Raina (106). However, none of the other batsmen could do much as India folded up for a paltry 245. Kumar Sangakkara was declared the Man of the Series. Sri Lankan Innings Ashish Nehra took India off to a dream start as Sri Lanka, chasing 246 to win, lost their first wicket without any runs on the board. Tharanga was the first wicket to fall as he slashed at a delivery outside off stump and Kohli took a sharp catch at second slip. The joy of an early wicket did not last too long for Team India as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara took control of the proceedings after the Lankans had lost their opening wicket for a duck. The duo helped Sri Lanka cross the 50-run mark in just the 8th over of the innings with both the batsman contributing equally to the ominous looking partnership.Yuvraj Singh brought India back into the game with the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan just when the second wicket partnership threatened to take the game out of India’s reach. Dilshan was caught behind the wicket by Dhoni just one short of his fifty. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka crossed the 100-run mark in the 18th over. Moments after Yuvraj Singh’s breakthrough, Harbhajan Singh also joined in as he sent back half-centurion Kumar Sangakkara for 55. Sangakkara was caught by Sehwag at first slip off a delivery that turned sharply. Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene steadied the Lankan ship with a good partnership after the fall of two quick wickets had re-ignited Indian hopes of coming back into the game. Sri Lanka were on course to lift the tri-series title as they eclipsed the 150-run mark in the 31st over of their innings. Just when Indian hopes for a victory were diminishing, Ravindra Jadeja did the trick as he cleaned up Thilan Samaraweera for 27. Samaraweera added 48 runs for the fourth wicket along with Sangakkara. India continued to fight and put the Lankan team under pressure as Harbhajan Singh dealt them yet another blow in the form of Thilina Kandamby’s wicket. Kandamby, who was sent back to the pavilion for 18, was trapped in front of the wickets after adding 32 runs with Mahela Jayawardene. Another wicket in the form of a run-out kept India in with a chance even as Sri Lanka inched towards the victory target of 246. Indian Innings With Indian fortunes lying in doldrums at one stage, Suresh Raina not only steadied India’s ship, but also added an element of competitiveness in the match with a brilliant century as India recovered from 60/5 to a reasonably competitive 245 all-out in 48.3 overs. Smashing 10 fours and a mighty six during his 115 ball stay, Raina’s 106 run-knock gave India a fighting chance in the finals of the Idea Cup after the Sri Lankan pacers had wreaked havoc with 5 early wickets. In his endeavor, Raina found an able ally in Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja and Raina put on 106 runs for the sixth wicket as the innings finally gathered some form of momentum. The duo indulged in some sensible cricket, inch by inch digging India out of the hole they had found themselves in the afternoon. Jadeja was also looking well set for a half-century, but a lapse of concentration just after the drinks break proved to be his undoing. Rapped on to the pads off a straighter one from Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jadeja was trapped plumb LBW. He made 38 runs during his gritty 64 ball stay, interestingly, scoring all his runs through running between the wickets. Harbhajan Singh (11runs) and Zaheer Khan (16 runs) chipped in with cameos, allowing Raina to complete his century. However, in the final analysis of things, disappointment of not being able to last out their quota of 50 overs lingered in the Indian camp. Earlier, Sri Lankan pacers had India on the ropes as they rattled through the top-order with quick wickets. After Kumara Sangakkara won the toss and not surprisingly, elected to field first, India made the worst possible start when opener Gautam Gambhir fell in just the third ball of the match to a freak dismissal. The ball hit southpaw’s pads before trickling down to uproot his leg-stump. His 2-ball duck in Nuwan Kulasekara’s first over brought another Delhi boy- Virat Kohli, to the crease. But, the in-form youngster failed to make it count when it mattered the most. Playing and missing for most part of his 8-ball stay, a wild cut at a wide delivery with no feet movement whatsoever, spelt his doom.Kohli made just 2 runs, snapped by Sangakkara behind the stumps off Welagedara. With wickets falling at one end, Sehwag responded like only Sehwag can, rattling up 3 consecutive boundaries in the next over bowled by Kulasekara. But Yuvraj Singh’s wretched form with the bat let India down, with the flashy all-rounder falling for a duck, guilty of chasing away at a well pitched delivery to Thilana Samaraweera at the first slip as Welagedara picked up his second wicket. At that point, India were reeling at 16/3 in the fourth over. Sehwag, along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, then put on 31 runs for the fourth wicket but just when it seemed that the experienced duo might dig India out of the hole, they suffered a jolt in the form of Indian captain’s wicket. With Sehwag firing on all cylinders, Dhoni succumbed to a inexplicable rush of blood, caught driving without reaching to the pitch of the delivery, gifting his opposite number his 300th victim behind stumps. He made 14 runs with 3 fours. However, the worst was yet to come! Sehwag, who now seemed India’s last trumpcard, meanwhile, was treating the Sri Lankan bowlers with utter disdain despite reverses suffered at the other end. Plucking boundaries at will, he seemed the key to India’s hopes of mounting a competitive total. But all such hopes suffered a rude jolt when in the 11th over, looking for an upper-cut, he failed to get hold of the away going delivery, only to end up offering a catch to Sangakkara again! Sehwag made 42 runs off 27 balls, hitting seven fours. With half the side back in the pavilion at the score of just 60, India had a mountain to climb. Luckily for them though, Raina proved equal to the task. From Sri Lanka, Kulasekara (4/48) and Welegedara (3/53) inflicted maximum damage on Indian batsmen. Teams: India:G Gambhir, V Sehwag, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni*†, SK Raina, RA Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, A Nehra, Z Khan Sri Lanka: WU Tharanga, TM Dilshan, KC Sangakkara*†, DPMD Jayawardene, TT Samaraweera, SHT Kandamby, NLTC Perera, S Randiv, KMDN Kulasekara, T Thushara, UWMBCA Welegedara