India vs Sri Lanka 5th ODI

Having clinched the series, India looked to end on a high by winning the last game and also to raise up their rank from 3rd to 2nd in the ODI Rankings of ICC. Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. Both the teams had changes. In the Indian team, Ajinkya Rahane was given a place instead of Sehwag. For the Sri Lankans, Kapugedera and Senanayake were given a spot. Rahane and Gambhir opened for India. They were going steady when Rahane was given lbw to Perera. In came Virat Kohli. Kohli for some reason wasn't  playing with his usual skill and had played some rash shots. Finally he too was given lbw to Pradeep. Rohit Sharma's sorrows continued when he was cleaned bowled by Pradeep at 4. In came Manoj Tiwary. Gambhir and Tiwary,teammates in IPL, built a solid foundation for the Indian innings. Both of them played some brilliant shots. Tiwary made an important 65 before he was taken by surprise by a ball by Malinga and was caught by Perera. He had been lucky twice before due to some wrong decision,but he made full use of those lives. Gambhir was joined by Raina who,surprisingly, caught on his first ball. Gambhir was joined by Dhoni. Gambhir made 88 before he was caught off a ball by Malinga. In came Pathan. Dhoni made a brilliant 58 before losing his wicket. Ashwin came in. Finally,India made a total of 294. The innings had gone through some highs and lows. The Indians had done well to score such a high total. The Sri Lankans began the first over with some big hitting. However, in the second over, Pathan got the breakthrough by dismissing Dilshan. The Lankans were not the disheartened and kept the run rate well above 7. Finally Tharanga was dismissed by Pathan. Chandimal was joined by Thirimane. Thirimane proved to be a threat. Chandimal was dismissed soon when he was given lbw to Dinda. In came Mathews,the skipper of  Sri Lanka for the game. Mathews got run out due to a brilliant piece of fielding by Tiwary.Kapugedera came to the crease but was dismissed soon by Zaheer Khan. In came Mendis. Mendis and Thirimane built a solid partnership. Thirimane made a great 77 before he was run out. Perera came in and the Lankans needed around run a ball to win. However, Perera tried playing the big shot and got caught. Mendis was joined by Senanayake. Although they were 7 wickets down, Sri Lanka needed less than run a ball to win and there was no stopping Mendis. And yet again Pathan came to the rescue. Senanayake was dismissed soon, again by Pathan. Pathan had his 2nd      5-wicket haul. As the wickets were taken quickly, Indians had a chance. Finally, Dinda brought and end to the game dismissing Malinga. India made it to 2nd position in the ODI rankings and won the series 4-1.

Gautam Gambhir plays a shot

Pradeep celebrates Kohli's wicket

Lahiru Thirimane

Irfan Pathan celebrates Mendis' wicket

Champions!














Team celebrate on a Renault Duster awarded to Kohli, the Man of the Series

India vs Sri Lanka 4th ODI

Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat first. M.S Dhoni had got Manoj Tiwary into the side, dropping Rahul Sharma. India were one bowler short. Sri Lanka got off to a steady start. Ashok Dinda finally got the breakthrough for india by dismissing Tilakaratne Dilshan. The next wicket fell due to Ashwin's efforts. Upul Tharanga was bak in the pavillion after making a great 51. Now,it was time for Dhoni to bring in his part-timers. So Manoj Tiwary was brought into the attack and he claimed the wicket of Dinesh Chandimal in his first over. Virender Sehwag put an end to the danger called Mahela Jayawardene. In came Angelo Mathews. Manoj Tiwary got him caught behind. Runs were hard to come by for the Lankans. Thisara Perera came onto the crease. His partner Jeevan Mendis proved to be a threat to the Indians. Tiwary yet again saved the Indians. Thisara Perera followed Mendis' footsteps,all thanks to Tiwary. India had broken into the lower order. Dhoni was relying on his part timers and R. Ashwin to do the job. Malinga and Rangana Herath caused some damage bringing Sri Lanka's total to 252. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir opened for India. Yesterday was not Gambhir's day as he was clean bowled in the first over by Malinga. He left the crease with a duck. India's new star Virat Kohli came in. The two of them started attacking the bowlers. Finally, Mathews got the breakthrough,dismissing Sehwag. Rohit Sharma came in but it was disaster for him yet again. He was given lbw to Nuwan Pradeep at 4. Manoj Tiwary ,who had proved to be a revelation earlier, came in. He couldn't do much dismissed at 21. It was time for Suresh Raina,the star of the previous game. The two of them got a partnership going. Kohli scored a brilliant 100 and Raina made a great 50. Although at one point of time it was equally poised, the two batsmen accelerated the innings and India had a comfortable victory by 6 wickets. So,India won the game and won the series. The fifth and last ODI  is on this Saturday.





Tiwary and Dhoni celebrate Chandimal's wicket

Thirimane plays a shot

Virat Kohli celbrates his 13th ODI Century