Aug 25
India did the near impossible at the Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, handing Sri Lanka only its 18th defeat in 67 ODIs at this venue and securing a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.India did it in partnerships. Man-of-the-Match M.S. Dhoni’s 80-ball 76 (8×4) and his alliances of 54 with Suresh Raina (53), and 67 with Rohit Sharma helped India score 237 for nine in 50 overs after winning the toss.Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan resumed their contract from Dambulla, reducing Sri Lanka’s reply to 40 for four: not nearly the point of no return — Mahela Jayawardene’s brave and brilliant 94 (111b, 6×4, 1×6) was far too good to be counted as merely raging against the dying of the light — but close enough.