The iSLanders leave India D(hon)isheartened

Rain reduced the match to a 29-overs-a-side match. While India made no changes to their playing eleven, Sri Lanka made a couple of changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Upul Tharanga and Ishara Amerasinghe made way for Farveez Maharoof and Nuwan Kulasekara.

On winning the toss, Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s skipper, inserted the Indians. Virender Sehwag, whose 18-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 14. Forty-five balls into the match, he was caught by Muttiah Muralitharan. Kulasekara broke the run-a-ball stand.

Tendulkar, whose 30-ball (Sach)innings included four boundaries, scored 32. Five balls later, he was caught by Kulasekara. Maharoof broke the four-run stand. India scored 50 off 8.4 overs (52 balls). Extras didn’t contribute to the total.

Thirteen overs into the match, the first drinks break was taken. India had scored 64 for the loss of a couple of wickets at that point. While Gautam Gambhir was batting on eight, Rohit Sharma was unbea‘ten’.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 59 balls. While Gambhir’s contribution to the partnership was 23, Rohit’s contribution to it was 21. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was half-a-dozen.

India scored 100 off 18 overs (110 balls). Extras’ contribution to the total was half-a-dozen. The third-wicket pair put on 64. Gambhir, whose 33-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 35. Seventy balls after Tendulkar’s dismissal, Tillakaratne Dilshan – the player of the match – and Lasith Malinga ran him out.

India scored 150 off 25 overs (152 balls). Extras’ contribution to the total was seven. This was, incidentally, the number of extras Sri Lanka eventually conceded. Rohit’s half-century – which included four boundaries – came off 53 balls.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 35 balls. While the contribution of both Rohit and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, to the partnership was 25 apiece, extras’ contribution to it was a run.

They eventually put on 68. Dhoni, whose 26-ball innings included three boundaries, eventually scored 31. Forty-six balls after Gambhir’s dismissal, Chamara Kapugedera and Kumar (Sangakka)ran him out.

Yuvraj Singh, whose three-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Five balls later, he was caught by Muralitharan. Malinga broke the 11-run stand.

Rohit, who batted at number four, eventually scored 70 off 64 balls, and was unbeaten. His innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and the only six of the innings. Robin Uthappa, who didn’t face a ball, was unbeaten. India scored 195 for the loss of five wickets off 29 overs.

Muralitharan, who bowled five overs, conceded 36. He was wicketless, as Vaas Chaminda, who bowled half-a-dozen overs, including a maiden. He conceded 39.

Malinga, Kulasekara and Maharoof bowled half-a-dozen overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. They conceded 45, 41 and 33, respectively.

Nine overs of the chase were lost during the break due to rain. As a result, Sri Lanka’s target was revised to 154 off 21 overs. Jayasuriya, whose (Sana)thirteen-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, scored 27. Twenty-three balls into the chase, he was caught by Dhoni. Ishant Sharma broke the 45-run partnership.

Sri Lanka scored 50 off 5.3 overs (37 balls). India had conceded eight extras at that point. Sangakkara, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Ishant. Harbhajan Singh broke the 24-run stand.

Sri Lanka scored 100 off 13 overs (86 balls). India had conceded 16 extras at that point. The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 49 balls. While the contribution of Dilshan – who opened the batting – to the partnership was 25, Jayawardene’s contribution to it was 21. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was seven.

Dilshan’s half-century – which included five boundaries and a six – came off 47 balls. Sri Lanka scored 150 off 18.3 overs (120 balls). India had conceded 19 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Dilshan, whose 59-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six, scored 62. He was unbeaten, as was Jayawardene, who scored 36. His 35-ball innings included a boundary. Sri Lanka scored 154 for the loss of a couple of wickets off 19 overs, winning by eight wickets with a couple of overs to spare under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Tendulkar and Sehwag bowled a couple of wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 15, the latter conceded 14. Sreesanth, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 48.

Irfan Pathan, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 29. Ishant and Harbhajan bowled four overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. While the former conceded 27, the latter conceded 15.