Swinging Zaheer too much for Lanka

Even before he opted to field first, he had made a few changes in the line-up that went on to prove decisive. He drafted S Badrinath and Praveen Kumar in place of Pragyan Ojha and opener Gautam Gambhir, who woke up with a stiff neck. Both the players justified their inclusion by playing significant roles in the three-wicket win.

The day started with Zaheer making most of the breezy morning conditions as he hit the right length and extracted just enough movement to give India the vital breakthroughs. Left-hander Kumar Sangakkara couldn’t keep an in-cutter away from his stumps, and right-handers Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Kapugedera couldn’t handle the ball sliding across them.

This also meant that the Indians had to bat out the uncomfortable five overs before lunch, and the visitors were jolted twice by Kulasekara in that period. Irfan Pathan, who opened with Virat, edged a delivery that moved a fraction away to wicketkeeper Sangakkara, while Suresh Raina was trapped plumb in front.

After the break, Yuvraj stitched a partnership till he failed to read Ajantha Mendis’s variation and was declared lbw. Dhoni, walking in at number five, took the responsibility of holding the innings together, even as Virat blossomed with an array of shots. A lapse of concentration cost Virat his wicket — playing an uppish drive straight into short-cover terminated his 82-minute 37 that included six boundaries.

... contd.