India cantered into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy dismissing Sri
Lanka by eight wickets in a semi-final fixture here on Thursday.
Chasing a modest 182 for a win, India got home with 90 balls to spare
with Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli scoring half-centuries. India will
play England in Sunday's final at Birmingham.
Dhawan
(68) scored his second ODI half-century and his 77-run opening stand
with Rohit Sharma (33) set up India's easy victory. In a tournament
where India have flexed their batting muscle, it were the bowlers who
came to the party on Thursday. Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin
took three wickets apiece after India decided to chase.
Even
as the afternoon remained overcast, the Sophia Gardens wicket has eased
out considerably and Lanka's pace spearheads Lasith Malinga and Nuwan
Kulasekara were barely threatening. There were a few times when the ball
missed the edge of the bat, but Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were never in
great discomfort.
Sharma
gave the Indian innings a breezy start, punching Kulasekara through
covers and Dhawan matched him with a similar stroke off Malinga, who
struggled to find his bowling form on a big day. Malinga actually
suffered a bit of humiliation when Dhawan upper cut him for a six at
backward point.
As has been a feature in this tournament, Dhawan
held one end up and except for lives on 18 and 62 - Kulasekara was the
luckless bowler -- the left-hander was a picture of confidence. His 50
came off 73 balls and was laced with six fours and a six.
The
first time Rohit Sharma's patience deserted him, he lost his wicket.
Stepping out to club Mathews over extra cover, he got an inside edge and
was bowled. That brought Virat Kohli and except for a pitch invasion
allegedly by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supporters, there was no
scare for the Indian batsmen.
Kohli, whose first boundary, a
lofted extra cover drive off Kulasekara, came after 41 balls, scored 65
runs for the second-wicket with Dhawan as Sri Lanka were left chasing
shadows in a horribly one-sided encounter. Dhawan (68 off 92 balls) was
finally stumped by Kumar Sangakkara after the batsman played
fully-stretched to leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis and failed to regain his
crease by millimeters.
Kohli, who scored his 23rd half-century,
with a six off Mendis, remained unbeaten on 58 (64 balls) and his 40-run
stand with Suresh Raina (7 not out) saw India home and dry on a day
that was heavily threatened by the elements.
Earlier, Ishant (3/33) and Ashwin (3/48) restricted Sri Lanka to 181 for eight wickets. Mathews was Lanka's best with a 51.
India's
quick bowlers exploited the conditions very well on a track that saw
some seam and bounce. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar moved the ball around,
Ishant and Umesh Yadav used their build to torment the Lankan top order.
For the first time in the championship, India's new ball bowlers were
like demons, extracting pace, lift and lateral movement all in tandem.
Ishant
got appreciable lift at the Taff River end and at least three
deliveries lifted disconcertingly. There were several play and misses
but the deliveries that pitched, lifted and left the batsmen, fetched
the wickets.
The fact that the first three Lankan batsmen were
all caught at slips explains how the ball jagged around in the overcast
conditions. The decision to bowl first after winning the toss was thus
vindicated. The weather improved dramatically after a rainy morning.
Great work by the ground staff ensured the start would be delayed by
only 30 minutes. This was the best gift to about 14,000 fans that turned
up, most of them Indians.
While Team India retained their XI,
Lanka made two changes. Vice-captain and in-form batsman Dinesh
Chandimal failed a fitness test and made way for Jeevan Mendis while
all-rounder Thisara Perera replaced Shaminda Eranga. Both failed with
the bat.
Bhuvneshwar gave India an early breakthrough, the
left-handed Kusal Perera paying the price for playing an expansive drive
and edging to slips. But what hurt the Lankans was the departure of
Tillakaratne Dilshan, who retired after scoring 12 off 14 balls.
The
explosive opener had just struck Yadav for boundaries when he pulled up
after playing an on-side stroke. Dilshan hobbled off the pitch,
clutching his right calf. It was a technical knockout with Lanka reeling
at 17 for two in the fourth over. Dilshan, of course returned at the
fall of the seventh wicket at 164 in the 48th over, but it didn't help
the below-par run-rate. Dilshan remained not out on 18 off 21 balls.
Adding
just five runs, the Lankans lost two more wickets in a space of three
overs. Lahiru Thirimanne was gone for 7 and Kumar Sangakkara exited
after a patient 17. Both left-handers perished in identical fashion,
poking at deliveries that left them and Raina making no mistake at
second slips. Sangakkara left a dejected man, paying for the first
indiscretion after a 44-ball stay that saw only one boundary from his
normally productive bat.
The fourth-wicket partnership between
Mahela Jayawardene and skipper Mathews produced 78 runs off 113 balls.
It was the only period of consolidation by the Lankans. Jayawardene and
Mathews profited from the Decision Review System after both were given
out LBW by the on-field umpires.
Dhoni teased the Lankans by
coming on to bowl in the 24th over. Dinesh Karthik took over the
glovework and the Indian skipper tried his medium-pace and almost got a
wicket off his second delivery! Aleem Dar gave Jayawardene out LBW much
to the delight of the Indians, but hotspot detected a faint inside-edge.
Dhoni
has generally been a net bowler but to see him in 'action' in a
Champions Trophy semifinal was indeed a surprise. Interestingly, his
only ODI wicket came in the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa. He
had clean bowled No. 4 West Indian batsman Travis Dowlin at the
Wanderers. On Thursday, Dhoni bowled four impressive overs conceding 17
runs.
With the wicket drying out, the Indian spinners got
appreciable turn and Ravindra Jadeja got the prize wicket of Jayawardene
in the 37th over of the Lankan innings. The man, who was responsible
for Lanka's march into the semis with a classy 84 not out against
Australia at The Oval, ran out of luck trying to mow down Jadeja to
mid-wicket. Playing across the line to a ball that kept low, Jayawardene
was bowled for 38 off 63 balls.
Mathews, who was saved by the
DRS when on 5, scored a valuable 39 off 61 balls with Mendis for the
fifth wicket. The 26-year-old Mathews was Lanka's top scorer with 51 off
89 balls. He hit the only six of the innings, a perfectly timed
on-the-rise stroke at long on off Ishant en route to his 14th ODI
half-century. Dropped a ball earlier by Virat Kohli at long-on, Mathews
holed out next ball to Bhuvneshwar at cover, a carom ball from
Ravichandran Ashwin (3/48) forcing the Lankan to play a wild stroke.
The
quick exit of Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara didn't help the
Lankans and even after Dilshan returned in the 48th over, the run-rate
didn't get any better. Lanka managed just 54 runs in the last 10 overs,
losing four wickets in the process
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