India v Sri Lanka, 2005-06
India v Sri Lanka, 2005-06
Ramakrishnan Kaushik
15-Apr-2006
At Ahmedabad, November 6, 2005 (day/night). Sri Lanka won by five wickets. Toss: Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's first victory of the tour was not without moments of anxiety. With the series won,
and alive to the need to keep players fresh for the arduous season ahead, India rested Tendulkar,
Pathan and Harbhajan Singh - and still managed to stretch the Sri Lankans in a good indication
of their bench strength. The regular Test opener Gambhir, in his first one-day international for 30 months, made his maiden hundred at this level, and put on 128 for the fourth wicket with Dravid,
who also scored a century after Dhoni had departed for a first-ball duck. The callow middle order
was exposed by the supersub Maharoof, who took four wickets, but 285 was nonetheless defendable
under the lights. India struck at regular intervals to peg Sri Lanka back, and looked favourites at
155 for five; but, with the dew making the ball increasingly slippery, Dilshan, whose 81 came
from only 67 deliveries, and Arnold took charge.
Man of the Match: T. M. Dilshan.
Ramakrishnan Kaushik is a journalist with the Deccan Herald in Bangalore.