Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh came good with the bat but India had to rely on the lower order to pull off a win in their first warm-up match against Sri Lanka 'A' at the Colts Ground in Colombo on Saturday.
Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar shared an unbeaten 54-run partnership for the eighth wicket to help India avoid an embarrassing defeat ahead of the Unitech Cup tri-series, which also features South Africa, starting on Monday.
After restricting Sri Lanka 'A' to 202 for nine in 50 overs, the Indians were looking down the barrel when reduced to 153 for seven before the Mumbai pair came to their rescue and saw them home in 44.3 overs.
Agarkar and Powar batted for nearly an hour in compiling their unbeaten 32 and 13, and while the former hit a six and a four, the latter, known for his bold hitting, scored no boundaries.
There were signs of things to come with Dravid opening the batting and Virender Sehwag coming at number four after Irfan Pathan.
Sachin Tendulkar, returning to the team after a more than four-month layoff, got off to decent a start before perishing to Nuwan Zoysa. The right-hander, pairing with Dravid at the top, made 19 from 27 balls with three boundaries.
It must be worrying for Dravid that the team did not handle well the middle overs, one area he had mentioned as key to India's success in Sri Lanka.
Between them, Virender Sehwag (1), Mohammad Kaif (0) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (9) utilised only 18 balls.
But the Indians had plenty to cheer about with the skipper and Yuvraj striking rich form.
Dravid was fluent during his 70-ball 47 that contained five boundaries, while Yuvraj top scored with 61 aided by eight fours.
Besides, the bowling performance too was something to take heart from.
Pathan, at the centre of a raging debate since being dropped for Tests on the Caribbean tour, returned a tidy 10-3-33-1.
But it were the slow bowlers who controlled the match. That is something that should please the Indian think-tank, considering that spinners generally call the shots on the slow wickets here.
Sehwag was the wrecker-in-chief with three for 16. Harbhajan Singh (0-33) and Ramesh Powar (0-29), though wicket-less, were equally effective.
Dravid said nothing should be read into the changes in the batting line-up.
"We are trying a few things. It was good to see the batsmen getting starts and it was also important that the bowlers came good," said the skipper at the official captains' press conference, which was scheduled while the match was interestingly poised in the Indian innings.
Meanwhile, the South Africans had their one-day warm-up game reduced to a 25 overs-a-side affair against Sri Lanka President's XI.
The teams had decided to call off the match initially following damp ground conditions due to overnight rains.
Right-handed opener Loots Bosman hit 28 to help the visitors overhaul the hosts' total for 136 for eight with three balls to spare.
Robin Petersen produced the winning shot, a six, in the last over.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 'A': 202 for 9 in 50 overs (Upul Tharanga 88, Jeewan Mendis 31, Akalanka Ganegama 29; V Sehwag 3-16) lost to India 203 for 7 in 44.3 overs (R Dravid 47, Yuvraj Singh 61, R Powar 13 not out, A Agarkar 32 not out; N Zoysa 2-37, Suraj Mohammed 2-50).
