Sri Lanka beat India by 161 runs

Sri Lanka beat India by a huge margin of 161 runs in the third ODI of the Celkon tri-nation series at the Sabina Park here Tuesday

Commanding centuries from Upal Tharanga (174 not out) and Mahela Jayawardene (107) steered Sri Lanka to a mammoth 348 for one and a crushing 161-run victory over India in the third match of the Celkon Cup tri-nation series at Sabina Park here Tuesday.

Sri Lanka blunted the Indian attack and played untroubled as their openers posted 213 for the first wicket before the innings closed with a daunting 348 on the board for the lost of Jayawardene, CMC reports.

Sri Lankan cricketers leave the field after defeating India during the third match of the Tri-Nation series between India and Sri Lanka at the Sabina Park stadium in Kingston. Pic/AFP

India, who successfully chased 330 against Pakistan a year ago, were expected to challenge the opposition, but the Sri Lankan bowlers proved too restrictive and the total too imposing for the reigning ODI champions. They were dismissed for 161 with five overs remaining.

After a watchful start, where the first 50 came off 12 overs, Jayawardene slammed his century off 107 balls and Tharanga brought up the 100 off 21.1 overs and kept the Indians toiling as they stretched their unbroken stand to 213 in the 39th over.

At this stage, Ashwin picked up the lone wicket for the Indians as Jayawardene, who also showed a return to form with his first ODI century in two years, was caught by Yadav playing a reverse-sweep.

However, there was no let-up as the left-handed Tharanga changed gears along with captain Angelo Matthews. Sri Lanka added another 135 for the second wicket off 11 overs. Tharanga seemed at his best and also recorded his highest ODI score in helping Sri Lanka to post a historic 348 for one.

The Indian bowlers seem bewildered by the situation as their persistent length balls went for regular boundaries. Tharanga also showed remarkable acceleration. While his first 72 runs came off 105 balls, he hammered an additional 102 off just 54 balls while striking 19 fours and three sixes.

When the Indians batted, they slipped into early trouble as opener Rohit Sharma was dismissed for five with the score on 12 off 4.2 overs, and never got into a position to threaten the Sri Lankans.

They reached 50 in 14 overs and were 64 for four, losing captain Virat Kohli for two, by the 19th over.

Suresh Raina (33) and Dinesh Karthik (22) staged a minor fightback putting on 53 for the fifth wicket. But once they were separated, with the score on 118 for five, the last five wickets managed just 69 runs. It was all over when Malinga fired a yorker into the stumps of Yadav in his eighth over.

West Indies lead the tri-nation series with nine points after victories over both Sri Lanka and India, and the Sri Lankans picked up four points for the win over India.u00a0

Scorecard

Sri Lanka:
Upul Tharanga not out 174
Mahela Jayawardene c Yadav b Ashwin 107
Angelo Mathews not out 44
Extras (b 1, lb 6, w 16) 23
Total (for one wicket in 50 overs) 348
Fall of wicket: 1-213 (Jayawardene, 38.4 overs)

Bowling:
Shami Ahmed 10-0-68-0
Umesh Yadav 8-0-64-0
Ishant Sharma 9-0-68-0
Ravindra Jadeja 9-0-55-0
Ravichndran Ashwin 10-0-67-1
Virat Kohli 2-0-9-0
Suresh Raina 2-0-10-0

India:
Rohit Sharma c Mathews b Kulasekara 5
Shikhar Dhawan c Tharanga b Herath 24
Murali Vijay b Malinga 30 (46 balls)
Virat Kohli c Malinga b Mathews 2
Dinesh Karthik st Sangakkara b Herath 22
Suresh Raina run out (Malinga/Jayawardene) 33
Ravindra Jadeja not out 49
Ravichandran Ashwin c Malinga b Senanayake 4
Shami Ahmed b Senanayake 0
Ishant Sharma c Sangakkara b Herath 2
Umesh Yadav b Malinga 0
Extras ( lb 4, w 12) 16
Total ( all out off 44.5 overs) 187
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Rohit Sharma, 4.2 overs), 2-52 (Dhawan, 14.3), 3-57 (Kohli, 15.5), 4-65 (Vijay, 18.3), 5-118 (Karthik, 28.1), 6-142 (Raina, 33.5), 7-153 (Ashwin, 37.4), 8-153 (Shami Ahmed, 37.5), 9-166 (Ishant Sharma, 40.3)

Bowling :
Nuwan Kulasekara 9- 0- 37-1
Angelo Mathews 8-2-23-1
Sachithra Senanayake 10-0-46-2
Rangana Herath 10-0-37-3
Lasith Malinga 7.5-0-40-2
Result:Sri Lanka won by 161 runs
Man Of The Match: Upal Tharanga
Points: Sri Lanka 4; India 0u00a0

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