Swinging Zaheer too much for Lanka

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.

Praveen, too, joined the party, to leave the hosts tottering at 44/6. Had Nuwan Kulasekara and Thusan Thilara Mirando not been dogged, Sri Lanka would have failed to reach the three-figure mark. The two all-rounders added 74 runs in 95 balls for the seventh wicket, with Thilara daring to try some on-the-rise and over-the-in-field shots. His innings of 44 from 46 balls ended after a swipe off a slower delivery from Praveen and straight into Virat Kohli’s hands at mid-wicket. His departure was followed immediately by Kulasekara, and though the last wicket managed 20 runs, Harbhajan wiped out the remaining batsmen to bundle Sri Lanka out in 38.3 overs.

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.

Rohit Sharma was trifle unlucky to be adjudged lbw but that brought in Badrinath at a precarious 75/5.

Badrinath then put his head down and played with soft hands to support Dhoni well in a match-winning sixth-wicket partnership of 60 that stretched over 15.5 overs. They ran their first runs quickly to create a second, and took advantage of the bounce to get cracking on the backfoot. Dhoni left the crease after a responsible 39 from 54 balls that contained jut three boundaries.

India’s victory today brought to mind their one-off high in the Test series at Galle. Like in the Tests, here too the Sri Lankan middle-order fell to pace and swing.