India finish league with
a thumping win

Sri Lanka vs India
Game Nine
Bristol
Scorecard

Kumar Sangakkara, a devout Buddhist, had stated in an interview that the idea of his religion was that man should not go to extremes; should avoid excesses of pleasure and suffering.

Ten overs into Sri Lanka's chase, Sangakkara had played a rollicking knock of 66, piling endless agony on the Indian seam attack. His knock, however, was not enough to win his side the game, as they crashed to 241 while chasing 305, the highest total of the NatWest Tri-Series, set by India, at Bristol.

Sachin Tendulkar set the final league encounter of the series ablaze with his 33rd century in limited-overs internationals. His romance with the Royal & Sun Alliance County Ground continued as he notched his second successive century at the venue. The last time India played here, against Kenya in the World Cup in 1999, he returned from his father's funeral to score a match-winning hundred.

The resounding victory earned India the bonus point. They finished atop the three-team league table with 19 points, followed by England, with 15, going into Saturday's final at Lord's.

Indian innings:

Following the defeat to England on Tuesday, India skipper Sourav Ganguly decided to bat first and sort out the batting line-up before Saturday's big match. Rahul Dravid, having recovered from his thigh injury, doned the keeper's gloves while Harbhajan Singh replaced Anil Kumble, and Tinu Yohannan got his first game of the tournament. replacing Ajit Agarkar.

In the second over of the innings, Virender Sehwag drove Nuwan Zoysa through the covers for a four. Three overs later, having interpreted the pace of the track, he cracked two more off Vaas.

Ganguly, at the other end, seemed shackled, discovering himself at the wrong end of the wicket repeatedly while dot balls ticked by. A snorter from Zoysa crashed into Ganguly’s grille, after he was late on a pull shot in the sixth over. Until then the Indian openers had taken just three singles and had 28 dot balls in the innings.

It was ironic that Ganguly, playing in his 200th one-day game, was out to his Achilles heel -- running between the wickets. Sehwag clipped Chaminda Vaas fine of square leg; ran a single and sent back Ganguly, who was looking for the second. The Indian skipper fell short of his ground, as Chamara Silva darted the throw from the deep. India lost their first wicket in the seventh over for 32.

Dinesh Mongia walked in, and with an audacious cover-drive scored off the first ball he faced. Having got off to good starts, he was determined to make this innings count and thumped Vaas down the ground for another four.

In the first ten overs, India ran just 10 singles and had 34 dot balls out of a total of 59, with the Sehwag-Mongia duo firing boundaries at will. With a 41-run partnership off 4.3 overs, the early loss of Ganguly was negotiated.

Sehwag batted discreetly but never abandoned his strokeplay. He was the victim of another run-out, when Mongia failed to connect the ball which bounced off his pads and fell on the off-side. He backed up too far down the wicket and Fernando dashed down the pitch, picked the ball, and caught him short of his crease. Another cavalier knock from Sehwag was cut short, though it had set the pace for the rest of the innings.

Mongia and Sachin Tendulkar kept the impetus going without taking any undue risks. Tendulkar played sublime drives through the covers and past the square fielder off Nuwan Zoysa.

Sri Lanka employed leg-spinner Upul Chandana who repeatedly asked the question off Tendulkar. Taking guard two feet outside off-stump, Tendulkar sent Chandana over his head for a four halfway through the innings with the score at 138 for 2.

Tendulkar pushed Mahela Jayawardene to square leg to bring up his 57th half-century off just 47 balls. He finished the over punching a boundary through the cover region as Sri Lanka searched for the elusive breakthrough.

In the next over, Mongia -- two short of his fifty -- was beaten in the air by Thilan Samaraweera. The ball stayed in the air for a trifle longer and missed Mongia’s bat before crashing into the stumps. (172 for 3)

The 99-run partnership for the third-wicket in less than 16 overs had set the Indian innings on course for a 300-plus score. The partnership was built on the back off some deft placements and quick singles, forcing Jayasuriya to rethink his options.

India lost Rahul Dravid quickly when Chandana trapped him in front, pitching one on middle and hitting him bang in front of the wicket.

Yuvraj Singh walked in and wafted a six over long-on as India crossed the 200 run-mark with more than 17 overs yet to be bowled.

But India misread the map from thereon and lost their way, as Yuvraj departed LBW to Samaraweera for 8.

Tendulkar played the ball to long-off and raised his bat, acknowledging his 33rd one-day-international century -- his second of the triangular -- off a mere 93 balls. It was an innings carved in ingenuity. Ten boundaries and a six were balanced with 44 singles in an innings that did not flash brilliance but set India on course for an imposing total.

A run-a-ball partnership of 62 runs between Tendulkar and Mohammad Kaif saw India reach 284 with another four overs to be bowled. But Tendulkar departed, taking a mighty swipe at Vaas and sending a skier for Upul Chandana to swallow at point.

Tendulkar’s 113 came from 102 balls and exemplified the solidity he provides to the middle order for the final assault.

The last four Indian wickets fell for a mere 20 runs as India were bowled out off the final ball of the innings for 304.

Sri Lankan innings:

Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya disappointed in his last outing of a forgettable English summer. Zaheer, in the second over of the innings, cut one back off the seam and rapped him on the pads. The umpire's finger spoke and Lanka had lost their first wicket eight balls into their chase.

Kumar Sangakkara, enthused by the state of affairs, decided to give his parting shot to the tournament by treating the Indian attack with disdain. Sending Zaheer through the covers to get off the mark, he hauled the left-arm opening pair of Nehra and Zaheer with an inspiring display of batsmanship. He punished the seamers irrespective of where they pitched the ball, forcing skipper Ganguly to reshuffle his fielders after every over.

Trekking down the track, Sangakkara discarded Yohannan off his first ball for a six over the long-on fence. The next ball, pitched wide outside the off-stump, went darting past the point fielder for four. He reached his half-century off just 33 balls with a drive through mid-off with his eighth four. The son of a Kandy lawyer celebrated his fifty with another four that flew over Yohannan's head.

Barring the chance that Kaif grassed in the covers, Sangakkara's innings was one of rare class --- an innings that was fiery, yet without a single ugly cross-batted slog. It was strange that the same batsman, who had, a couple of days ago, publicly asked for a rethink on the Lankan strategy to bang away in the first 15 overs, did precisely that.

Skipper Ganguly though missed a bet by not attacking Sangakkara with a slow bowler. A bowler like Yuvraj or Sehwag would have slowed the game down; it would have made Sangakkara use his force and smash the ball instead of merely using science and the bowler's pace to find the fence.

In the 13th over, Ganguly tossed the ball to Harbhajan, who got the breakthrough. He enticed Sangakkara to dance down the wicket, bowling a tad wide outside off. The batsman missed the line of the ball and Dravid behind the wicket displaced the bails to end a truly breathtaking knock of 66 in 47 balls. The 25-year-old law student had won the opening defense but left the Lankan case unsolved.

Sri Lanka had raced away to 96 for 2 in the 13th over, pulling the asking rate down to 5.5 an over.

Yuvraj broke a 64-run third-wicket partnership between Jayawardene and Atapattu, who had calmly held one end, when the former went for an needless reverse sweep and top-edged a simple catch to Nehra at backward point for 31. (160 for 3)

An electric pick-up and throw from Yuvraj Singh at point ended Atapattu's contribution to the Lankan cause. Atapattu was run-out for 53 and Lanka had lost their fourth wicket for 165.

Lanka, who had promoted Zoysa to take a swipe at the Indians after Mahela Jayawardene's dismissal, sent Ganguly soaring into the stands over mid-wicket for six but landed the ball into Mongia's hands at long-on when he heaved at him again off the next ball. (171 for 5).

With a piece of fielding that inflated the hopes of every Indian supporter, Kaif, patrolling the cover region, sent Russel Arnold back to the pavilion. Pouncing on the ball, he threw down the wickets as the batsmen tried to scamper through for a leg-bye. (188 for 6)

Harbhajan picked his second wicket, piercing through the defenses of Samaraweera with one that pitched outside off and cut back to hit the off-stump. (210 for 7)

The 'offie' picked another when Chandana hoicked him to deep square leg fielder Nehra. Another stumping for Dravid gave Harbhajan his fourth wicket of the game and a case to present for his inclusion in the playing eleven in the final.

Vaas then heaved at Zaheer, got a top edge that fell harmlessly in no-man's land behind the bowler. Mongia fired the throw to Dravid, who threw down the wickets with Dilhara Fernando, the last man, yards out of his crease. The Lankan innings folded for 241 with more than five overs to spare.

In the end, the Indian total seemed too much for the dispirited Lankans, who fell short by 63 runs.