Afp, Colombo
Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralidaran equalled the one-day bowling record before India clinched the series with a crushing 147-run victory in the third match at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Tuesday.
The tourists posted a challenging 363-5 following rapidfire centuries from Yuvraj Singh (117) and Virender Sehwag (116) and then dismissed the hosts for 216 for an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
It was India’s second successive one-day series triumph in Sri Lanka, having won 3-2 on their last tour in August 2008.
Sri Lanka never looked like achieving a stiff target under lights despite a fighting 83 from wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara and cameos from Tillakaratne Dilshan (31) and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (30).
The hosts suffered a setback in the second over when hard-hitting opener Sanath Jayasuriya was bowled for no score, chopping paceman Praveen Kumar’s delivery on to his stumps.
Sangakkara hardly received support from the other end as Kumar (2-41) and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha struck just when the hosts looked like building a partnership. Ojha finished with 4-38, his best in eight one-dayers.
Sangakkara was the seventh batsman out after hitting nine fours in his 82-ball knock.
The afternoon session belonged to Yuvraj and Sehwag, who added 221 runs — India’s highest stand for the third wicket against Sri Lanka. The previous best was 175 between Navjot Sidhu and Mohammad Azharuddin in Sharjah in 1995.
Muralitharan equalled former Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram’s one-day record of 502 wickets in his 327th match when he had Yuvraj caught by Chamara Kapugedera at point in his eighth over.
But the Sri Lankan, the world’s leading bowler in Tests with 769 victims, failed to grab the record-breaking wicket in his last two overs and will look to reach the milestone in the fourth one-dayer on Thursday.
Yuvraj and Sehwag flayed the Sri Lankan attack with a magnificent display of hard and clean hitting after their team had lost Sachin Tendulkar (seven) and Gautam Gambhir (10) in the opening four overs for 24 runs.
Left-handed Yuvraj, who raced to his half-century off just 40 deliveries, took 42 more balls to complete his 11th hundred in one-dayers. He cracked one six and 17 fours in his 95-ball knock.
Opener Sehwag celebrated his century a few overs later, steering unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis to third-man for two runs. He smashed 17 fours in his 90-ball knock for his 10th hundred in one-dayers.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene used six bowlers, but none could stop the flow of runs as Yuvraj and Sehwag were quick to punish errors in line and length on a slow pitch.
Yusuf Pathan also feasted on an inconsistent Sri Lankan attack, hitting three sixes and four boundaries in his 38-ball 59 not out for his second half-century.
He added 85 for the unfinished sixth wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out). The duo helped their side plunder 83 in the last 10 overs.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
