Tri-Nation Series: Kohli, Ashwin star in India victory

All-round show by world champions helps down Sri Lanka by 4 wickets.

PERTH:

Batsman Virat Kohli steered India to a four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in their tri-series One-Day International (ODI) in Perth with an impressive 77.

Sachin Tendulkar failed in his quest to score his long-awaited 100th international century once again but Kohli’s knock ensured India notched a comfortable win as they overhauled Sri Lanka’s 233 for eight with 20 balls to spare.

Kohli, the only Indian centurion during the tourists’ dismal 4-0 Test-series loss to Australia, upstaged his more celebrated teammates again before he ran himself out in dramatic fashion and seemed to suffer a hamstring injury in doing so. He had appeared to be suffering cramp late in his innings and had to be assisted from the ground after a despairing dive after having faced 94 balls, hitting eight boundaries and one six.

India captain MS Dhoni said he was hopeful it was not a hamstring strain.

“He got cramps and I don’t think it’s serious,” said Dhoni, adding that he could not recall previously seeing a batsman having to be helped from the field after a dismissal. “Maybe somebody got hit and fell on the wickets, but I’ve never seen this happening before.”

Tendulkar falls short again

Meanwhile, Tendulkar failed to reach his long-awaited milestone as he appeared to be cruising towards his half-century. But on 48 he dragged an Angelo Mathews delivery onto his stumps to make it 27 Test and ODI innings since his last century.

India looked shaky at 181 for six when Kohli departed, but man-of-the-match Ravi Ashwin (30*) and Ravindra Jadeja (24*) guided them home.

Dhoni praised the all-round performance of Ashwin, who also picked up three wickets. “Ashwin had to bowl out of his comfort zone in the Powerplays and the slog overs,” he said. “He did well with the ball and also batted well.”

Chandimal hits half-century

Earlier, Dinesh Chandimal’s polished knock of 64 was the mainstay of the Sri Lanka innings and helped them post a competitive total. Several Sri Lanka batsmen squandered promising starts, including opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (48) and veteran Kumar Sangakkara (26), but the 22-year-old Chandimal was the only one to reach 50.

Ashwin was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three for 32.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said his batsmen had not put up enough runs on the board.

“Losing wickets after putting together small partnerships held us back,” he said. “We were probably 30 or 40 runs short of our target.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2012.