Summary of India vs Sri Lanka, Match 2

India 304 for 3 (Gambhir 100, Kohli 108) beat Sri Lanka 254 (Jayawardene 68, Sangakkara 65, Pathan 4-32) by 50 runs

That late burst from Dhoni and Raina proved the difference in the end, turning a good score built on the twin centuries from Gambhir and Kohli into a stiff target. Jayawardene and Sangakkara looked in control, but a top-heavy Sri Lanka crumbled after their dismissals. Ashwin's double strike in the 36th over being the decisive blow. Irfan putting in a solid performance with four wickets

thiru: "There's a reason why Mahela always batted at 4 or 5, even though he has always loved to open the batting. With him opening, the batting is a bit inexperienced, and it showed in today's match. It would be a knee-jerk reaction to suggest that this is the sole reason for today's loss, but Mahela in the middle-order meant that the 'experience' was more evenly distributed through the lineup."

Gambhir's stint wasn't flawless though. He was dropped on 36 and survived a run-out opportunity on 94, Dinesh Chandimal the culprit on both occasions. Those lapses overshadowed a more committed display in the field at the start of the innings, when the run-rate was just over four an over.

Apart from the late cuts, Gambhir used his feet well against the spinners, lofting over extra cover and down to the straight boundary. Hitting in the air was a method the batsmen had to employ as several drives along the ground found the fielders. Kohli kept busy at the crease, rotating the strike to ensure India didn't get bogged down against the spinners.

The period between the second and third Powerplays - overs 21 to 35 - produced 87 runs. Only five fours were struck in that period but the pair wore Sri Lanka down with singles - 53 of them - and six twos. Jayawardene went defensive, pushing the fielders back. Kohli ensured he punished the bad deliveries from the spinners and even produced a reverse sweep, which raced to third man.

Both batsmen reached their centuries in the 42nd over, and their contrasting celebrations were compelling to watch. Kohli jogged the single to long-off and controlled his emotions by merely gesturing to his team-mates with a big smile. Gambhir, however, didn't restrain himself as he punched the air, removed his helmet and yelled out something to the dressing-room. His emotional reaction signaled the end of a long wait to reach three figures.

Both departed in the following over, holing out to the deep. The double-strike - in the 43rd over - didn't give Sri Lanka much respite, as MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina plundered some wayward bowling at the death. The bowlers regularly dished out full tosses, which were clubbed down the ground and flicked off the pads.

Ironically, it was a full toss that yielded their first wicket, that of Sachin Tendulkar. His dismissal was partly due to smart captaincy by Jayawardene, who dropped the idea of a gully and stationed himself at short extra cover. Tendulkar pushed a full toss straight to him. Suranga Lakmal was lucky - the ball dipped just below waist height when Tendulkar played it - and the batsman stood his ground, seemingly asking the umpires to check if it was a legitimate delivery.

Sri Lanka weren't so lucky as the innings progressed.

Irfan Pathan Picked up four Wickets

Virat is the Man of the Match. Virat: "To be able to adjust so quickly from Australia is very satisfying because of the different conditions. We [Gautam and I] have got a lot of big stands between us. We understand each others' games really well. We don't have to tell each other what to do. It is very satisfying when the wicket is slow, you have to control your urge to hit a boundary and take the singles. It is just a great honour [the vice-captaincy], I never expected it at 23." Well said, fiery one.

Dhoni: "It was difficult at that time when Mahela was batting well. The wicket changed a bit, it came onto the bat better and they were able to play their shots. Praveen was having an off day then, they took Jadeja for runs, so I was actually two bowlers short at that time. And had to get the part-timers in. But Praveen came back well, and Irfan and Vinay supported him well. There were not many boundaries in the Virat-Gautam partnership but they did well to set up a base. It is a tough ground to defend with quick outfield. Hopefully it won't be as easy to bat in the second innings as it is now as the tournament goes on. It is not that we played badly against Sri Lanka [in Australia]."

Mahela: "When you are chasing something like that, the guys who get starts have to finish off. Pretty bad shot from me. We chased really well, nothing wrong with the wicket. We needed to finish the chase which we did not do. Initially they set it up nicely with Gautam and Virat. I thought we gave away 15-20 runs more, it is difficult to bowl to Dhoni and Raina, our fielding could have been better too. We can take many positives out of this game. The new guys did well. Suranga bowled well. I have enjoyed batting up the order. I am more relaxed, I can play my shots It is easy to bat with Dilshan and it later flows with Sanga. But as I said, I played a pretty bad shot."

SCORECARD

Points Table :
Teams Mat Won Lost Pts NRR
India 1 1 0 4 +1.000
Pak 1 1 0 4 +0.420
B'desh 1 0 1 0 -0.420
S.Lanka 1 0 1 0 -1.000