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| Virender Sehwag's counterattacking ton helped India recover from early strikes in Dambulla |
India's batting at the start of this crucial match highlighted the gulf between Virender Sehwag and the others. An overwhelming percentage of the total runs was credited to him, and it said so much about the lack of contributions from his top-order colleagues, explaining India's inconsistent batting displays through the series. Sehwag raced along to a typically brisk half-century with his own style of intimidation, but the presence of the reliable MS Dhoni after the early losses gave the Indians a slight advantage at the halfway stage.
With the tri-series into its sixth and final league game, and the Indian players familiar with the conditions, it was still a bit of a gamble by Dhoni to bat on a fresh pitch. There was no certainty as to how the surface would behave, so India's gameplan should have been to play cautiously at the start, survey the terrain and then accelerate. However, it seemed as if Sehwag was batting on a different pitch altogether, unfazed by the early movement and nip off the wicket which made the seamers look potent.
Dinesh Karthik perished in the first over, chasing a Kyle Mills delivery seaming away from him with his feet nailed to the crease. Virat Kohli, brought in to replace a struggling Rohit Sharma, failed to grab his chance, and his reaction on his dismissal suggested that he got a rough decision. The replays detected a very thin edge but both the wicketkeeper and Scott Styris, fielding at cover, claimed they heard it and Asoka de Silva didn't waste too much time pondering over it either.
Andy McKay used his pace and bounce to get rid of Yuvraj Singh, top edging a delivery that came on quicker than he expected. Suresh Raina was out pulling a delivery from Tim Southee which wasn't very short, and India had lost four wickets by the end of 13 overs. Those wickets were a blot on the scoresheet and took the sheen away from a very fluid and entertaining innings from Sehwag.
Not known for exaggerated foot movements, Sehwag used the crease well to loft the seamers over the off side, through the line of the ball. He barely moved his feet across the stumps but such was his confidence that he managed to stretch out, scoop and slash powerfully over backward point. A more conventional punch through cover brought up his 1000th ODI four and that was part of a sequence of three consecutive fours off Southee. An inside-out loft over the covers brought up his fifty and India were lucky to have Dhoni at the other end, who rotated the strike and built a solid partnership.
