Riding on vice-captain Yuvraj Singh's explosive 172, India on Friday defeated Lankan XI convincingly by 92 runs in a practice match in Colombo ahead of the five-match one-day series against the hosts.
Yuvraj struck eight fours and 13 sixes in his 121-ball innings and helped India pile up massive 342 runs for the loss of five wickets after Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat.
The Indian bowlers also responded well to the cushion provided by their batsmen and restricted the Lankans to 250 for six in the 50-over match.
The P Saravanamuttu Stadium came alive as Yuvraj single handedly took the Lankan bowlers on a rampage and just after scoring his century, he struck off-spinner Jehan Mubarak for four consecutive sixes.
His destructive innings came to an end when he was caught at deep mid-wicket by Mahela Udawatte off seamer Chanaka Welegedara while going for another big shot.
Yuvraj was involved in three valuable partnerships, adding 77 runs for the third wicket with Suresh Raina (45), then a 85-run stand with Rohit Sharma (24) and lastly 99 runs for the sixth wicket with skipper Dhoni (20 not out).
Apart from Yuvraj, Raina looked in good nick and kept the score board ticking with his deft touches, but he eventually got out to Malinga Bandara.
Young Virat Kohli, who earned his first international call, cracked four hits to the boundary en route to his 23-run stay at the crease.
In reply, the Lankans never really looked like reaching the huge target despite half-centuries from Mubarak (60) and opener Upul Tharanga (50) and were eventually restricted to 250.
Tharanga, who hammered six boundaries and a towering six, was involved in a 69-run stand for the first wicket with Udawatte, while Chamara Silva scored 38.
For India left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan was the most successful bowler, picking up two wickets for 48 runs.
The five-match ODI series starts in Dambulla from Monday.
Brief Scores:
India 342-5 in 50 overs (Yuvraj Singh 172, Suresh Raina 45; Chanaka Welegedara 2/64).
Lankan XI 250-6 in 50 overs (Jehan Mubarak 60, Upul Tharanga 50; Irfan Pathan 2/48).
