INDIA VS SRILANKA 3rd ODI:India crush Sri Lanka by 147 runs to clinch series

INDIAN BATTING PART 1 

INDIAN BATTING PART 2

SRILANKAN BATTING

 Yuvraj Singh (117) and Virender Sehwag (116) cracked blistering centuries to propel India to a record 363 for five in the third one-dayer against Sri Lanka here on Tuesday.Electing to bat, the Indians recovered from two early jolts and rode on Yuvraj and Sehwag's stunning assault to record their highest total on Sri Lankan soil, eclipsing the previous best of 307 for 6 in 1998 at the same venue.Sehwag and Yuvraj set the R Premadasa stadium ablaze with their scintillating strokeplay as the duo stitched a record 221 runs for the third wicket to guide the visitors to an imposing total from where they can push for a series-clinching victory.Yusuf Pathan (59 not out) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out) were the other notable contributors for the visitors who have left Sri Lanka with a stiff asking rate 7.26 runs per over for a victory.The twin centuries also broke a jinx as no Indian batsman had hit a ODI century on Sri Lankan soil in the last ten years.The Indians, leading the five-match series 2-0, had a rather disappointing start to the innings when Sachin Tendulkar was handed a dubious leg before wicket decision for the third successive time.But as a disappointed Tendulkar walked back to the pavilion, Sehwag and Yuvraj brought the smiles back in the dressing room with an audacious exhibition of strokes which put the islanders completely on the back-foot.Yuvraj's 95-ball 117 contained as many as 17 boundaries and a six while Sehwag was equally ruthless in his 90-ball 116 which was studded with 17 boundaries. Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni then provided the late sparks to the innings by using the long handle to devastating effect in the slog overs.

The islanders appeared totally clueless and the erratic performance of the bowlers and some shoddy fielding compounded their misery in the crucial match which they need to win to stay afloat in the series.The Indian innings got off to a disastrous start with Sachin Tendulkar being a victim of a dubious umpiring decision for third time in a row.The star batsman had been adjudged leg before wicket in in the first two matches and a similar fate awaited him today when Sri Lanka umpire Gamini Silva ruled him lbw when the ball clearly seemed to go down the leg side by a huge margin.The visitors suffered another jolt soon after with the in-form Gautam Gambhir being tragically run out for 10, leaving India tottering at 24 for two.Gambhir was dropped by Thilina Kandamby when he was yet to open his account but it was simply not his day as he perished soon after when Dilhara Fernando deflected Sehwag's straight drive to the wicket at the non-striker's end with the left hander out of the crease.But the complexion of the game changed dramatically after Yuvraj Singh joined forces with Sehwag as the duo launched a savage assault on the Lankan bowlers.Initially, it was Yuvraj who was the more aggressive of the two batsmen while Sehwag was quite content in giving him the strike. The dashing Sehwag then stepped on the pedal and the runs started coming in torrents with the clueless home team bowlers being plundered for runs at will.The two batsmen maintained a brisk scoring rate of over seven runs per over right through their partnership, giving a torrid time to rival skipper Mahela Jayawardene.

The Sri Lankan bowlers were a pale shadow of themselves as they bowled a poor line and length, making things easy for the Indian batsmen who found the boundaries easy to come by.While the pacemen strayed down the leg side and conceded a lot of runs, the two spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis also failed to contain the run flowSehwag got a reprieve when he was on 73 with Sanath Jayasuriya dropping a simple return catch. The lapse proved costly as the Delhi opener stepped up the pace of scoring from then on.Both Yuvraj and Sehwag unleashed a barrage of strokes to take India beyond the 200 mark in quick time.Yuvraj took a single off Maharoof to notch up his 11th ODI century, becoming in the process the first Indian batsman to score a century in Sri Lanka in the last ten years.Yuvraj's belligerence came to an end when he was caught by Jayawardene off Muralitharan, a dimissal which helped him to equal Pakistani legend Wasim Akram's world record tally of 502 one-day scalps.Sehwag soon joined him in the pavilion being run out off a direct hit from Jayasuriya.