Tag Ind-Aus-2012

131st India v Sri Lanka ODI, the most between any two teams, none had ever ended on a tie as it did today, thanks to yet another poor run chase from Indians. Like in the previous match when MS Dhoni and company left acceleration till very end before decisive six came about, today Indian skipper left it too late and Lankans managed a tie..

9 runs required of last over and 4 off last ball, match was in Sri Lankan grasp but a missed run out and a dropped catch kept Indians in hunt and game end on same score. Gautam Gambhir once again missed his century. here's how the story unfolded.

The scores

Sri Lanka 236 for 9 wkts in 50 ovs.
India 236 for 9 wickets in 50 overs.
Full scorecard : game 5, 14 Feb 2012.

Electing to bat first on Adelaide pitch that was tipped to be slowing down, Indian new ball bowlers did their job, restricting Lankan openers before captain Mahela Jayawardene joined young Dinesh Chandimal and artistically found the gaps in the field against array of Indian spinners. 94 runs between them, the launching pad was set but runs didn't come as easily. It was Sachithra Senanayake who found few boundaries towards the end to push the score to a respectable position.

R Vinay Kumar bowled the best and grabbed the top position in leading wicket takers table of the tri-series so far.

Chasing moderate target, Sachin Tendulkar failed once again, edging a Nuwan Kulasekara delivery to wicket keeper Kumar Sangakkara. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as well as Suresh Raina didn't last long, giving Lankans wickets to stay in the match.

Crucial stand came between Gautam Gambhir who was fast approaching a century and MS Dhoni who found gaps at will. A bad run call from Dhoni effected Gambhir's run out and then Ravindra Jadeja wasted few deliveries as asking rate blew over 8 runs an over.

Even now, Indians didn't put the foot on gas, remaining content with singles and doubles, leaving 9 runs off last over, falling winning run short at the end.

Rangana Herath

Bowled the most economical spell of this short ODI career so far, in 21 matches. 2/36 was his most economical bowling against Zimbabwe in the first match he bowled in an ODI. Overall, his best figures has been 3 for 28 against South Africa at Dambulla.

Virat Kohli

Completed 3000 ODI runs, as the 4th fastest in terms of innings. Vivian Richards of West Indies reached the mark in his 69th innings, Gordon Greenidge of West Indies in 72 innings, Gary Kirsten of South Africa in 72 innings and now Virat in 75 innings.