Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Cricket (CB series 5th ODI India vs Sri Lanka) on 12th Feb 2008

Sri lanka beat India in the 5th odi in manuka oval in canberra.

Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 62 to lead Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket victory over India in a rain-affected fifth match of the Commonwealth Bank Series on Tuesday.

The Sri Lankans reached their revised target of 154 for the loss of just two wickets with two overs to spare of their allocated 21, after reducing the Indians to 195 for five from 29 overs.

Rohit Sharma again impressed for India, smashing his second ODI half-century as his team posted a competitive total after being asked to bat.




In a match initially reduced to 29 overs per side following heavy rain in the morning at the Manuka Oval, Rohit held the Indian innings together with an unbeaten 70 off 64 deliveries which included six fours and a six off Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag gave India a good start, putting on 45 runs in little more than seven overs before both opening batsmen lost their wickets in the space of five deliveries.

Sehwag was the first to go, taken at third man by Muralitharan for 14 off a Nuwan Kulasekara delivery, and Tendulkar followed in the next over for 32 when he struck a ball from Farveez Maharoof straight to Kulasekara at deep third man.




A third-wicket stand of 64 between Rohit and Gautam Ghambir took the Indian total to 113 before Gambhir was run out for 35 at the non-striker's end following a mix-up between the pair.

The Indians put on 85 runs in the final nine overs as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni shared a 68-run partnership with Rohit before he was also run out for 31.

Yuvraj Singh made six runs off three deliveries before lofting Lasith Malinga to Muralitharan at wide mid-off for a simple catch in the final over.

Further rain saw Sri Lanka's target reduced to 154 from 21 overs, and they knocked off the runs with minimum fuss.

Sanath Jayasuriya fell in the fourth over when he got a leading edge to an Ishant Sharma delivery and was caught behind by Dhoni for 27, while Kumar Sangakkara's run-a-ball innings of 10 was brought to an end in the eighth when he was caught at mid-on by Ishant off Harbhajan Singh.



But Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene saw the Sri Lankans home with two overs to spare, the opener completing his half-century off 47 balls alongside his captain who finished unbeaten on 36.

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