Virender Sehwag (97*) and Sachin Tendulkar (40*) took India to 180/2 at stumps on the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.

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Sehwag batted with his customary flourish and was just three runs short of what could be his 21st century as the visitors reached a comfortable 180/2 in their first innings at close on the second day.

Sehwag ran away with honours on Day Two, which also saw Sri Lankan Thilan Samaraweera (137) hitting a century, with a scintillating show of strokeplay on a sporting pitch at P Sara Oval.

The dashing Indian opener, who sent the home team bowlers for a leather hunt in the final session, consumed just 87 balls for his 97, hitting 17 fours. He also became the sixth Indian to score 7000 Test runs when he reached 70.

Giving company to Sehwag at stumps was milestone man Sachin Tendulkar (40) who has become the most-capped Test player, surpassing former Australian captain Steve Waugh’s 168 appearances.

Murali Vijay (14) and Rahul Dravid (23) were the two batsmen dismissed. India now trail Sri Lanka by 245 runs with eight first innings wickets intact.

Coming together at 92/2, Sehwag and Tendulkar have shared 88 runs for the unfinished third wicket stand.

It turned out to be a productive day for the Indians, who were trailing 0-1 in the series, as their bowlers came up with a decent performance by taking the last six wickets in less than two sessions to bowl out the home side for 425.

Sehwag then led a strong Indian reply with a typical aggressive innings. The opener, who was dropped on 52 by Angelo Mathews, gave Chanaka Welegedara with special treatment hitting boundaries off the Sri Lankan bowler almost at will.

Welegedara bled 59 runs from his first spell of eight overs before he was taken off. Out of the 11 fours he conceded in his first spell of nine overs came from Sehwag’s blade.

The strong start by the visitors was though a one-man show for most part as other opener Murali Vijay could contribute just 14 from 35 balls.

Vijay was looking like giving long company with his senior partner with some fine delectable boundaries off Welegedara before he was out to a tame dismissal after raising 49 runs with Sehwag for the opening wicket.

Vijay tried to check himself from playing a drive off a full length Lasith Malinga delivery which went straight to Ajantha Mendis at extra cover.

Dravid looked like a man in hurry scoring an uncharacteristically breezy 26-ball 23 which was laced with five fours but failed for the fifth time in the series to make an impact.

Earlier, pacer Ishant Sharma and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha shared the spoils with two wickets apiece as Indian bowlers got their mojo back to bowl out Sri Lanka for 425 half an hour before the tea break.

Besides Ishant (3/72) and Ojha (4/115), leggie Amit Mishra and part-timer Virender Sehwag also claimed one wicket apiece as India removed the last six Sri Lankan wickets for 132 runs and in 51 overs.

The post-lunch session was the most productive session for India as they took four wickets at the expense of 56 runs.

For Sri Lanka, Thilan Samaraweera remained unbeaten on 137 which he made from 288 balls and with the help of 12 boundaries and a six.

Angelo Mathews (45) was the other main contributor for Sri Lanka while the five lower order batsmen could not reach double digit figures as the home side were all out after facing 138 overs around half an hour before the tea break.

Resuming the post-lunch session at 396/6, Suraj Randiv was the first to go when he scooped a simple skier of the bowling of Sehwag to Rahul Dravid at first slip in his individual score of eight.

Malinga (4) was the next to go as he popped up a simple return catch to Amit Mishra giving the bowler his first wicket.

The remaining batsmen, however, continued to hang on for a while along with Samaraweera who gave some special treatment to Ojha.

It was left to Ishant to get Ajantha Mendis when the batsman stabbed it to gully where Suresh Raina made no mistake.

Ishant then got his third wicket when Chanaka Welegedera failed to gauge a short pitch bouncer that took the edge of his gloves and went to the wicket keeper for a fairly straightforward catch.

In the morning session, Ojha scalped two quick wickets but Samaraweera’s patient hundred carried the Sri Lankans forward.

Samaraweera’s century came off 229 balls and comprised 10 boundaries.

Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun extracted a bit of bounce from the pitch early on, but they could not provide any breakthrough.

Source: Times of India

Under the provision of grant of honorary rank by Armed Forces to eminent personalities acknowledging their contribution towards the nation, the Hon’ble President and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of India is pleased to confer Shri Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar the honorary rank of Group Captain of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

In recognition of Sachin’s glorious achievements as a cricketer and sports icon par excellence, IAF had mooted a proposal to confer the honorary rank of Group Captain. Besides the recognition, his association with the IAF will motivate the younger generation to join the Air Force to serve the country.

Accepting the honour, Sachin, who is presently out of the country, expressed his pleasure over the honour being bestowed. “It is indeed a great honour that I have been considered for the honorary rank of Group Captain in the Indian Air Force. As an Indian, I am very proud to be associated with this Dynamic Force and I shall do my very best to be a brand ambassador for the IAF.”

Expressing his eagerness to interact with the air warriors, he said, “I am looking forward to familiarizing myself with the Indian Air Force. I once again salute the Indian Air Force for this great honour bestowed on me”.

Till date 21 persons have been granted the honorary ranks from Flight Lieutenant to Air Marshal. The last person to be conferred the honorary rank of Air Commodore was Shri Vijaypat Singhania on 08 Oct 90.

Source: NDTV Cricket

The top 50 rates Tendulkar as the number one influencer in India, followed closely by IPL Chairman Lalit Modi at second spot and liquor baron Dr Vijay Mallya in third.

Union Agriculture Minister and President elect, ICC Sharad Pawar, Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and BCCI president Shashank Manohar are fourth, fifth and sixth on the list respectively.

Some of the names in 50 most influential people in Indian sports including Tendulkar, tennis ace Sania Mirza (50th on the list), Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra (41st), Churchill Brothers Team owner Churchill Alemao (48th), Dempo Sports Team owner Shrinivas Dempo (49) were felicitated during a function here late last night.

“I wanted to play cricket whole-heartedly for the country. I am living my dream and have played with two-three generations. I wanted to be a special member of the team and I have done it,” Tendulkar said on the occasion.

Tendulkar added he was still receiving congratulatory messages for becoming first batsman in the history of One-day cricket to score a double hundred and that he was enjoying the good time.

“It has taken many years for a batsman to get a double-hundred (in ODIs). I am still getting great feedback. It feels terrific,” he said.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar rewrote history by smashing the first double ton in one-dayers as India crushed South Africa by 153 runs in the second ODI…

And with this victory India clinched the three-match series with one game to spare.

Tendulkar (200 not out) became the first batsman in the four-decade history of ODI to hammer a double century as India piled on a mammoth 401 for three and then skittled out South Africa for 248 in 42.5 overs for a facile win.

With this victory, India not only took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and rendered Saturday’s third and final match in Ahmadabad inconsequential but also ensured there was no threat to their status as the number two ODI side in the world.

For them, Dinesh Karthik (79 off 85 balls), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (68 not out off 35 balls) and Yusuf Pathan (36 off 23 balls) starred with the bat but the day belonged to Tendulkar.

Everything else paled in comparison to Tendulkar’s epic 147-ball blistering knock, studded with 25 fours and three sixes, as the master blaster treated the capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh stadium to a stunning exhibition of strokeplay.

It was not only Tendulkar’s 46th ODI century but also the highest score in one-dayers, eclipsing the previous record of 194 which was held jointly by Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Conventry.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (C) (W), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis (C), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Alviro Petersen, Mark Boucher (W), Wayne Parnell, Roelof van der Merwe, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt

Source: ESPN Star

The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium witnessed history on Wednesday as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.

One-day international cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out against Bangladesh in 2009) and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar (194 against India in 1997).

As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer.

His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni came down from the striker’s end to shake hands and hug him.

And as Tendulkar set on his way back to the pavilion after the completion of the Indian innings, a tumultuous celebration greeted him.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their senior teammates.

Tendulkar batted like a man with a mission on Wednesday and the South African bowlers simply had no clue where to bowl.

Once he crossed the 150-mark, the crowd anticipated something special and Tendulkar did not let them down.

A six off Roelof van der Merwe took him past Kapil Dev’s 175 not out and in the next over, he hit Jacques Kallis for a four to equal his previous best of 186 not out that had come against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.

The crowd got restless as Tendulkar approached the 194-run mark and a couple off Wayne Parnell saw him eclipse it.

His teammates and spectators were on the edge of their seat with a double century round the corner but with Dhoni going berserk at the striker’s end and facing most of the deliveries, it was an agonising wait for all.

Dhoni took singles off the final deliveries of the 47th-49th overs and Tendulkar finally took strike with four balls left in the innings.

The first ball he received from Langeveldt was steered past point and Tendulkar ran for a single to remain unbeaten after an unforgettable unbeaten 200 that came off just 147 balls with 25 fours and three sixes in it.

It was yet another milestone for the man, who has some 30,000 international runs under his belt, including 93 centuries (47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs).

Source: Times of India

The Sehwag storm struck South Africa with full force and pretty much blew everything in its way to a 13th 150-plus score. Amid the mayhem, it was easy to forget the cool, pleasant breeze that was Sachin Tendulkar’s 92nd international century – his fourth in four Tests. They added 249 runs for the third wicket and kept South Africa wicketless for 57.4 overs but, once the two quietened, South Africa struck back with three quick wickets to retrieve some of the momentum in the match.

Sehwag rattled them with a vicious assault on the new ball, put behind him the Gautam Gambhir run-out and, after a brief quiet, punished them some more. His 87-ball hundred would have been even faster but for a relative lull of 10 off 21 balls. Tendulkar enjoyed playing in the shadow of Sehwag’s strike-rate, kept scoring at an even pace and, unlike Sehwag, didn’t give South Africa a single chance.

Two critical moments in the first session determined the flow of the game. Sehwag – 43 off 21 then – had the fastest Test fifty and a few other records in sight when he ran Gambhir out, and he chastised himself by playing disciplined cricket for a while. Around the same time Morne Morkel indulged in some reverse-rattling, took out M Vijay, troubled Sehwag with accurate bouncers and induced an edge only to see JP Duminy – at first slip because of the finger injury to Graeme Smith – drop him on 47. Sehwag could have gone at an even more frenetic rate but for the run-out. South Africa could have been in control had Sehwag fallen then.

Sehwag’s onslaught started when Dale Steyn failed to get any swing. Somehow the ball didn’t come out right, the seam wobbled, and Nagpur was a distant memory. When there is no swing, Steyn’s pace is his biggest enemy so today the faster they came the faster they went. Nor did he get the Morkel’s bounce, which meant that when Steyn went for the ribs, Sehwag could easily flick it past midwicket.

The storm started with that gentle little flick and then came three boundaries in three balls in the third over: placed over point, whipped to square leg, and slashed past point. Morkel got the treatment in his third over too: three boundaries through the off side, one off a delivery that clocked 152.6kmph. Wayne Parnell replaced Morkel immediately, and immediately he was carved for a four and a six into the rubble of a stand under reconstruction.

The next ball Sehwag faced he hit an off-drive for four, and then came the run-out. It was time for drinks and Sehwag threw away his protective gear in disgust. That was when Morkel came back but his charged-up, accurate burst seemed to have ended with that dropped chance.

When Sehwag came back from lunch, the cautious approach had been thrown out and he was blazing away again. For company he had Tendulkar. If you were a bowler, there was nowhere to hide.

Sehwag showed that to Steyn early in his second spell. Punch, whip, steer, 10 runs off three deliveries. Steyn to Sehwag then: 11 balls, 25 runs, five boundaries. Tendulkar joined the fun, defending everything full but steering Steyn for two boundaries. Paul Harris, meanwhile, didn’t have the luxury of a big score, bowled round the stumps, and was slog-swept and hit inside out by Sehwag for a six and a four.

Back came Morkel, the best bowler on the day, to be given the worst sort of treatment a best bowler can be given. This time Tendulkar took the lead. Two fullish deliveries, two clips to the on side, one to the left of square leg, one to the right. In his next over, he gave Sehwag width with three deep fielders on the off side. One to the left of deep point, and one to the right. Sehwag 89 off 72, Tendulkar 38 off 61. India were 165 for 2 in 30.2 overs, with the bonus of South Africa’s two best bowlers negated.

In between the hard-hitting there was some toying, with paddles from outside off, reverse-sweeps, clips past midwicket as Sehwag reached his hundred and Tendulkar his fifty without further incident. Harris eventually started bowling over the wicket, and was called wide 12 times because, unlike in Nagpur, he was not looking to get wickets here.

The runs slowed down post tea. When Sehwag was 128, AB de Villiers, the replacement keeper, missed an easy stumping. By the time Duminy made good his mistake, getting Sehwag in his first over, it might just have been too late. Not quite. Harris went round the wicket in the next over – inexplicably it took him until the Sehwag dismissal to do so – and got a false shot out of Tendulkar.

Steyn came back right away, got his swing back, and beat S Badrinath in the man-versus-boy contest. VVS Laxman struggled to fight the momentum and edged Harris in the next over. It flew wide of slip, the light deteriorated and India ended the day retaining the upper hand despite that late South African surge.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Sachin Tendulkar struck his 45th Test century and Rahul Dravid his 29th as India toyed with the Bangladesh attack to tighten their grip over the second and final Test on Monday.

The Indian top order fired in unison but the second day’s highlight was the 222-run third wicket stand between Tendulkar (143) and Dravid (111), who retired hurt after a Shahadat Hossain bouncer had hit him on the ear guard.

India were 495 for five — 226 runs ahead of their hosts — when stumps were drawn after Harbhajan Singh’s (13) dismissal in the 103rd over of the innings. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was batting at 22 at stumps.

The 103-run opening stand between Gautam Gambhir (68) and Virender Sehwag (56) provided the perfect platform for the visitors to push for a big total and the Dravid-Tendulkar stand — their record 17th century partnership — ensured the pressure on Bangladesh only intensified.

Tendulkar’s cause was helped by Raqibul Hasan, who twice dropped him — first off Rubel Hossain when on 27 and off Shahadat on 50.

Dravid too had his share of good fortune. Batting on 28, he was caught in the slip off Rubel Hossain but it turned out to be a no-ball.

Tendulkar’s fluent 182-ball knock was studded with 13 fours and a six, while Dravid hit 12 fours during his 188-ball knock before he had to leave the field.

Dravid and Tendulkar eclipsed the 16 century-plus partnership record shared by the Mathew Hayden-Ricky Ponting (Australia) and Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes (West Indies) pairs.

In the top half of the Indian line-up, only Murali Vijay missed out on a half-century, falling after a 49-ball 30.

The day also saw Gambhir equalling West Indian legend Vivian Richards’ record of 11 fifty-plus knocks in consecutive Tests.

After dominating the match right from the word go, India would now look to post a big first innings score so that they do not have to bat for the second time in the match.

India scored at a brisk pace on the second day, amassing 390 runs from the 89.5 overs they faced.

Earlier, twin half-centuries by Sehwag and Gambhir gave India to a flying start.

Resuming on his overnight personal score of 41, Sehwag reached his half-century in the third over of the morning with a boundary off Shahadat who, four overs later, had the batsman caught behind. Sehwag needed 61 balls for his quick knock of 56 which he made with the help of seven fours.

Gambhir, who resumed today on 26, caught up with his senior opening partner with a flurry of fours, including two from consecutive balls off Shahadat in the fifth over of the morning and reached his 11th fifty in 60 balls.

Gambhir, however, failed to negotiate a Shafiul Islam bouncer and the resulting edge was easily collected by Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps half an hour before lunch. Gambhir’s 68 came from 83 balls and included nine hits to the boundary.

Dravid and Tendulkar then denied the hosts another breakthrough for nearly three and half hours, virtually ending their comeback hopes.

With the two senior most Indian batsmen in the middle, the Bangladesh bowlers toiled hard with little success.

Tendulkar and Dravid cut off risks and rotated strike by taking mostly singles. The duo surpassed the Bangladesh first innings total in the 51st over inside the first hour after lunch. They opened up a bit towards the tea break with Tendulkar hitting two fours of consecutive balls each off Mahmdaullah Riyad and Mohammad Ashraful.

While Tendulkar got two lives in his knock, Dravid wasn’t unlucky either. Batting on nine, Dravid was adjudged not out by the third umpire after a Gambhir drive had hit the stumps with Dravid out of the crease and bowler Shahadat suggesting the ball had brushed his finger.

Three overs before lunch, Dravid was caught at the first slip by Junaid Siddique off Rubel Hossain and the Indian had started walking back to the pavilion only to be called back as umpire Billy Bowden ruled it a no ball.

After Dravid had retired hurt, Tendulkar fell to a soft dismissal when he chipped a Shakib Al Hasan delivery to the mid-wicket fielder Imrul Kayes.

Source: Times of India

As with India, Bangladesh’s collapse started in the 15th over. India lost three wickets for six runs, Bangladesh lost three for five. India had managed 79 quick runs before it, Bangladesh 59. India continued collapsing, bad light granted Bangladesh stay orders. In fact the murky conditions allowed only 24.5 overs of play in two sessions.

After Sachin Tendulkar reached his 44th Test century, scoring 29 of India’s 30 runs on the second day, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes provided Bangladesh a solid and quick start, reaching 38 in eight overs. The coming together of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma reduced scoring opportunities, the batsmen started playing and missing, surviving lbw shouts, and two runs in three overs resulted in Kayes slashing outside off, a shot that told the bowlers they were not far off a wicket.

One more close lbw shout against Kayes later, Zaheer got one full and straight enough, and caught him on the crease. Shahriar Nafees, coming back from the ICL, top-edged a pull second ball, and then found Ishant to be too good for him. The ball landed on middle, back of a length, and then nipped away. Nafees had to play at it, and the movement squared him up, taking a healthy edge. In the next over, Zaheer, by now frustrated at missing the edge repeatedly, got one to nip in, squeeze under Tamim’s bat, and take the off stump.

In 11 balls, Bangladesh had gone from hoping to dominate India to hoping for a Tendulkar-like innings to carry their fledgling innings. Tendulkar it was who added some respectability to India’s total, scoring 105 runs out of the 164 scored since he came to the crease. Resuming on 76 on the second morning, he manoeuvred the strike well and scored his 89th international century. Shakib Al Hasan and Shahadat Hossain reached five-fors – for Shakib, a sixth five-wicket haul in 15 Tests.

Bangladesh came in with the mindset of attacking the No’s 10 and 11, and hoping that Tendulkar wouldn’t cause irreversible damage by the time they managed that. In the first four overs, Tendulkar let Ishant play just six balls, only one of which troubled him. And during those four overs, with fields coming up for the last two balls, Tendulkar hit 2, 4, 1, 4, and 6 to get into the 90s. Shahadat then moved round the stumps, and the change of angle proved to be too much for Ishant to handle, who edged a delivery going across.

Sreesanth got a single first ball, and Tendulkar reached his century off the last two balls of that Shahadat over – Shakib was seen applauding Tendulkar’s effort. At the other end, Sreesanth didn’t look overly comfortable against Shakib who got alarming turn, but somehow saw off one over. Shahadat did his bit by bowling a wide yorker and keeping Tendulkar at his end. In the next over, Shakib got a leading edge that ended India’s innings.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

After Virender Sehwag had bludgeoned 44 from just 28 balls, an unhurried and unbeaten 96 from Sachin Tendulkar took India to a facile victory that took them 2-1 ahead in this five-match series. Sri Lanka had dominated the early stages of the match, galloping to 165 for 1 from 22.2 overs but they then subsided in bizarre fashion, undone by a combination of Ravindra Jadeja’s spin, poor shot selection and two wickets in two balls from Ishant Sharma, who had gone for a whopping 46 in his first three overs. They lost the remaining nine wickets for 74 runs and slumped to 239 all out. India eased past with 44 balls to spare.

The game changed once Sehwag, captaining in placed of the banned MS Dhoni, brought the slow bowlers on, and it was he himself that dealt the vital blow, having Kumar Sangakkara stumped for 46 despite Dinesh Karthik initially fumbling the take. India built on that success soon after, with Upul Tharanga losing his off bail in Jadeja’s opening over after an attractive 73. Sri Lanka never recovered from those twin strikes.

Mahela Jayawardene’s poor series continued when he slugged a long hop from Harbhajan Singh to short midwicket, where Suresh Raina timed the leap perfectly to take the catch. Thilina Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedera stopped the rot for a few overs, but then Jadeja and Ishant combined to end all hopes of a large total.

First, Kapugedera played on off Jadeja, and then Kandamby too found the inner edge off Ishant. When Suraj Randiv got a thin edge to one that moved away, it was 210 for 7. Jadeja then trapped Nuwan Kulasekara plumb in front as Sri Lanka unravelled completely. When Jadeja slid one through the defence of Ajantha Mendis, he had 4 for 32 from his 10 overs.

It had been so different at the start of play, with Zaheer Khan bowling three wides in an opening over where Dilshan added two fours for good measure. Ishant, in the side in place of Praveen Kumar, was greeted with a crisp shot to long-on and two meaty flails through cover. With Tharanga then whacking one down the ground for six, and Dilshan slapping another ball through cover, the 50 took just 3.4 overs, the fastest-ever against India.

Ashish Nehra came on to stem the tide, and Dilshan could have gone on 36, only for Karthik to make a mess of a flick on to the stumps that would have run him out. It wasn’t a costly miss though, with a top-edged heave at Nehra ending up in Karthik’s hands soon after. By then, the run-rate was 10 though, and with Tharanga steering and cutting the ball neatly, the runs continued to mount.

Sangakkara drove Ishant straight down the ground to bring up the hundred, and when Tharanga edged Harbhajan down to third man, he had his half-century from 51 balls. Sangakkara then lofted Sehwag for a straight six, and things were looking exceedingly grim for India until the spinners and Ishant had their say.

Chanaka Welegedara started the Indian innings with a maiden, and Sehwag then watched Tendulkar clip and cover-drive Kulasekara for fours. When his turn came, he took Kulasekara for three fours in an over, a feat he repeated when Lasith Malinga came on without his radar in place. Welegadara was also then smashed for three fours before Dilshan held, at the third time of asking, an attempt to belt the ball over point.

After Sehwag’s exit, the run flow eased temporarily. Tendulkar was fortunate when an inside edge off Kulasekara missed leg stump on its way for four, but with some lovely strokes being played through the covers and midwicket, the innings was soon back on track.

Tendulkar said hello to Mendis with a paddle and a cover-drive for four, and when he then upper-cut Kulasekara for four more, Sangakkara brought on Randiv in a bid to emulate what the Indian spinners had done earlier in the day. He duly got Gambhir, a return catch off the leading edge, but with Tendulkar well set and Yuvraj Singh finding his off-side rhythm, it looked likely to be no more than a blip.

It took Tendulkar 57 balls to reach yet another half-century, and when he then dabbed Mendis through vacant slip, the target was well below 100. Yuvraj went, playing a lazy drive at Welegedera, but with Karthik taking Mendis for two fours in an over and then chipping a Malinga yorker over mid-on, India hurtled towards the target.

Tendulkar carried on in unhurried fashion, with deft dabs and clips off the pads, and glances so fine they just evaded the keeper. But with Karthik clouting Randiv over long-on for a six, the century that the crowd was looking for never arrived. Not that it mattered. With Sri Lanka succumbing to the Christmas spirit of giving, what might have been a challenging chase became instead as pleasant as a moment under the mistletoe.

Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo

The ghost of the R Premadasa lights was almost slain tonight. Sachin Tendulkar’s master class, not far off his best, his 86th international century, almost became a footnote on a night of punches and counter-punches. Sri Lanka knew being ultra aggressive was the only way of going about this huge chase, and they counterattacked every time a wicket fell. Thilina Kandamby, batting at No. 7, fell just short of pulling off a heist against India for the second time in his short career, as the early wickets left him with too much to do.

Don’t go by the 46-run margin, Indian fielders and pace bowlers were rattled during the frenetic chase. It was their spinners, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, who saved them the embarrassment. They took critical wickets at critical points, Raina’s dismissal off Chamara Kapugedera in the 43rd over, with 68 runs and the batting Powerplay to go, proving to be the decisive blow. A pumped-up Harbhajan then finished off what he started, taking out the last three in a hurry: he had earlier taken two wickets in the eighth and 10th over of the innings to rein in an explosive start to the chase.

An explosive start from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya promised a classic finish to the final, but a pumped-up Harbhajan Singh made immediate impact and punctured Sri Lanka’s hopes of completing an improbable chase. There was no way Sri Lanka were going to get close to the target by playing Sachin Tendulkar-like, risk-free cricket and both the openers were prepared to take their chances. Sri Lanka never really lifted their foot off the pedal in what was a frenetic first half of the chase, and required just over six an over at halfway stage but had lost five wickets.

Dilshan and Jayasuriya got stuck into the fast bowlers, cutting, flicking and scooping with ease. MS Dhoni had to call upon Harbhajan as early as the eighth over, with 60 runs already up and the pace bowlers not remotely looking like forcing a breakthrough. Harbhajan’s first over was a masterpiece. With a slip and leg slip in place, and a strong on-side field, he invited Dilshan to take the risk and hit through the off side. Dilshan took the bait – he didn’t have many choices – got one boundary through cover, and was bowled the next ball.

In his next over, Harbhajan got Mahela Jayawardene with a doosra, and India were on all-out attack. Jayasuriya, looking to counterattack and scatter the field, holed out to mid-on, and it seemed India would run through the batting order. Kumar Sangakkara pulled out a surprise by promoting Thilan Thushara to pinch-hit, which he did by scoring three lofted boundaries in no time. Dhoni, however, brought Ishant Sharma into the attack and he pegged the middle stump back. Out came Angleo Mathews and he hit Ishant for a six in the same over.

Another counterattack was on, but Dhoni was not making things easy. Yuvraj Singh became the fourth bowler in the innings to take a wicket in the first over of a new spell, getting Mathews with one that stopped a touch. Sangakkara and Thilina Kandamby then eased out on the attack a bit, with the captain clearly playing the guiding role. At the half-way mark, the two had added 37 off 45 balls. Dhoni would have put it across Sri Lanka had he not missed Sangakkara’s stumping in the 25th over.

Sachin Tendulkar rolled back the years, and then some more. He stroked, ran and yearned for runs like it was the 1990s but, unlike those days, he didn’t need to take any chances or risks on the way to his 86th international century. By the time Tendulkar was done, he had given India a strong chance of ending a run of five straight defeats in completed tournament finals to Sri Lanka.

This was Tendulkar’s ninth international century since May 2007, to go with seven scores in the 90s. Judging by this form, 100 international hundreds have become a distinct possibility. Today admittedly he was helped by MS Dhoni winning the toss at one of the worst ODI venues, in terms of the toss influencing the result of the match. But what followed the toss was an absolute master class. A measure of the bowlers’ helplessness lay in the fact that the first time he hit a ball in the air was to reach his fifty, that too off a free hit. With Tendulkar batting the way he was, who needed aerial shots?

He shared valuable partnerships with Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, though the especially crucial one was the stand with Dravid. Tendulkar and Dravid, 73 years and 762 ODI caps (before this match) between them, took charge of what has looked a shaky batting line-up: their 95-run opening stand took them to No. 6 on the all-time partnership aggregates in ODIs.

Tendulkar you simply couldn’t take your eye off. Albeit on a flat track, Tendulkar and Dravid were prepared to work hard in sapping conditions, their shirts turning to dark blue with sweat even before the shine went off the white ball.

After Dravid got India going with a boundary off the second ball of the innings, it was all Tendulkar and his classy shots. Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara didn’t serve up loose half-volleys or long hops; Tendulkar had to work for every forceful shot. The first ball he faced he punched sweetly off his toes, wide of mid-off for three. In the fourth over, he took a similar delivery and wristed it wide of mid-on for three. We were on to something.

A string of lovely boundaries followed, the best being the punches through a tight cover ring, and the late flicks from off and middle stump to midwicket and cow corner. With Dravid being Dravid, there were hardly any chances for the bowlers; the one that came their way Tillakaratne Dilshan dropped at point. Dravid was 24 then, and India had reached 58 in the 12th over.

Lasith Malinga came on in the 14th over, and was subjected to similar treatment at once: an impeccable punch through the covers for four. With that free hit, a slice over cover, Tendulkar reached his 92nd ODI fifty, off 47 balls.

Dravid followed it up with an aerial shot of his own, reading an Ajantha Mendis googly early, and lofting him over long-on. It was not all fours and sixes, but smart placements on the non-boundary hits: only 38 of the 95-run stand came in fours and sixes.

Dhoni moved up to No. 3, and settled into the innings without wasting much time. By then Tendulkar had started taking the odd chance, stepping out, making room, and hitting Jayasuriya and Mendis over extra cover. Not all such shots brought boundaries, but the twos and threes were a main feature of the innings. During the 110-run second-wicket stand, Dhoni made Tendulkar run hard, and was returned the favour by the man eight years his senior. Never did Dhoni outscore Tendulkar, and between them the two saw off the threat the spinning track posed.

When he hit an inside-out boundary off Mendis in the 29th over, Tendulkar reached his 90s and serenely, with ones and twos, brought up the hundred. The temptation for the double century was on but after the hundred came the cramps, and when Tendulkar opted for a runner we were reminded for the first time it was in fact the year 2009.

Dravid came back to run, but Tendulkar did most of the calling. The bowlers showed no mercy, Malinga bowling a mix of bouncers and yorkers. Tendulkar’s response was to hit Mendis for a six inside-out and reverse-sweep two boundaries in three balls. When he got out in the 46th over, trying one reverse-sweep too many, he had outscored a younger and fresher Yuvraj too in a 71-run stand.

In the last four overs, Yuvraj’s big hitting got India 42 runs, taking them to 12 more than what Sri Lanka managed and defended comfortably two days ago.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo