The Indian team have had a rather dramatic time over the three ODIs they have played in one week. They started off with a humiliating loss, eked out a hard-fought win to draw level and then posted a roller-coaster 33-run victory in a game that was as up-and-down as the last seven days. Chasing 238, the packed-to-capacity R Premadasa Stadium was half-empty within the power plays of Sri Lanka’s stuttering chase. Wicket after wicket went down and at an embarrassing 59 for six, the hosts seemed to have lost sight of the victory target, but Mahela Jayawardene played a scorcher to spark interest the contest. Batting with a runner in the latter part of his innings, his 94 from 111 balls nearly translated artificial excitement into anxiety for the Indian team, before a soft paddle-shot straight into Praveen Kumar’s hands off Munaf Patel brought the smiles back. Sri Lanka, eventually, folded up for 204 in 49 overs to hand India a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Cut to the chaseZaheer Khan was instrumental in dismantling the Lankan top-order, as he got the ball to move both ways off the seam to dismiss both Kumar Sangakkara and Chamara Silva leg-before. Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel provided excellent support, the former tempting Jayasuriya with an away-going delivery to earn a snick, before catching Kapugedera plumb in front. Though Munaf got a bit of stick towards the latter half, his three wickets were just reward for his nagging line and length. Thilan Thushara, who walked in at number nine, made a valiant effort, contributing 30 in an 81-run eighth-wicket partnership. But once he was yorked out by Zaheer, Jayawardene was left with too much on his plate.Batting starsEarlier, India, led by the efforts of Dhoni and Raina, had done well to reach 237 for nine in their 50 overs.A promising start from Virat Kohli camouflaged Gautam Gambhir’s struggle against Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara. Yuvraj Singh flattered to deceive in the middle-order once again, but Raina and Dhoni seemed to have conquered some demons. The most impressive part of the runs the duo scored was the way they tackled Mendis.Raina’s knock of 53 off 80 balls not only triggered a late middle-order revival — they were 4 for 91 at one stage — but also helped India demystify their nemesis. He started by getting down on his knee and slogging the ball over mid-wicket for a six in Mendis’s first over, while Dhoni used his own methods to ensure that Mendis — who finished with 3-53 — was the most expensive Lankan bowler.Ugly, but effectiveWatching Dhoni play Mendis wasn’t the greatest of cricketing sights but it certainly was effective. The Indian skipper employed an ugly front-foot defence and some audacious swipes, he waited on the backfoot for the ball to turn and cut and drove with brute power. “The important thing about tackling him was to punish the bad balls. All this while, he was never put under any pressure which is why he continued to dominate. Today we reversed it,” he said after the match. Dhoni picked Mendis for 29 runs against 28 bowled to him. Raina got 13 runs off 14 balls and Rohit Sharma, who shared a handy 67 runs for the sixth wicket, got 10 from the nine he faced. But Jayawardene felt it was too early to say that India had decoded Mendis. “When they scored against him, I had set attacking fields to capture an extra wicket. Any other day, he would have bowled with a different field, so things would have been different. He is a quality spinner and will bounce back,” he said.
