Lanka have to fire all cylinders for the equalizer

Sri Lanka will have to fire all cylinders as they attempt to find that equalizer win in their second one day international (ODI) against India in Nagpur.

It was so much near but yet so far for Sri Lanka as the hosts clinched the tall-scoring humdinger in Rajkot. It was a run feast at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in the first encounter of the five-match ODI series between the two teams.

When India, helped by a sparkling 146 off 102 balls by opener Virendra Sehwag, posted a commanding 414 for 7 in 50 overs, it looked as if the hosts have already won the game. Hardly anyone thought that Sri Lanka would ever come out with such a fighting performance.

Blistering knock

Thanks to that blistering knock of 160 off 124 balls by opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka gave anxious moments to India to bring a nail-biting finish to the opening game of the series.

Though Sehwag and Dilshan played two marathon knocks to strengthen their respective team totals, it was Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara who played the most explosive innings. He bombarded the Indian bowling armoury with a brilliant 90 off just 43 balls with five sixes and ten boundaries. It was a treat to watch as Sangakkara was in full cry with an incredible strike rate of over 200. If he had faced at least a couple of more balls, the result would have been different.

Unfortunately, seasoned campaigners Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene were off colour and as a result, Sri Lanka fell short by three runs of what would have been one of the greatest wins in ODI history. But the departure of young campaigner Angelo Mathews and the run out of Tilan Samaraweera forced Sri Lanka to finish their innings at 411 for 8 in 50 overs.

Many similarities

There were many similarities at the match as both teams posted totals of over 400 runs and losing almost equal number of wickets - India seven and Sri Lanka eight wickets respectively.

Both teams had solid 150 plus foundations - India 153 runs for the first wicket and Sri Lanka also putting on 188 runs for the first wicket. It was opening batsmen in each side who made big innings - Sehwag (146) for India and Dilshan (160) for Sri Lanka. Then there were two other half centurions each in the respective sides - Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni for India and Upul Tharanga and Sangakkara for Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, both teams lost their second wickets a few runs after passing 300-run mark and also around the 36th over - India 309 for 2 in 35.3 overs and Sri Lanka 316 for 2 in 36.3 overs.

Despite losing the first ODI narrowly, Sri Lanka batsmen put up a creditable performance after that humiliating three-Test series in which they lost the last two Tests by an innings.

Pinch hitter

It seems Dilshan has fitted in well to the top slot as a pinch hitter. It was nice to see Tharanga joining Dilshan to share a superb 188-run partnership for the first wicket. That put the Indian bowlers under tremendous pressure. The departure of Tharanga in the last ball of the 24th over did not bring relief to Indian bowlers as Sangakkara's willow showed no mercy and added salt to the wounds of the Indian bowlers.

But the determined Indians battled it out to the very last ball. Ashish Nehra bowled an intelligent last over of which Sri Lanka had to score 11 runs for victory. But some clever thinking by Nehra turned the match in India's favour. Though tail-ender Nuwan Kulasekara took a single off the first ball of Nehra's last over, Mathews was out for 38 in the fourth ball, shattering Lanka's last hope.

The final turning point of the match was the run out of Thilina Kandamby in the 40th over. Until then, Sri Lanka were sailing smoothly towards that gigantic target.

Consolation win

Sri Lanka's only win so far during the tour has been their consolation win in the first Twenty20 game. But that joy, after the humiliating defeat in the Test series, was short-lived as the home team came back strongly to win the second Twenty20 match.

A win for Sri Lanka is a must for Sangakkara's men to keep their morale up and the chances of winning the ODI series alive. If India wins, they will take a good 2-0 lead - a situation which would put undue pressure on Sri Lanka at the third ODI to be played at Cuttack on Monday.

Hence, Sri Lanka must make every effort to take revenge today and level the series so that they could inject some fresh blood to the minds of their players. Considering the manner in which Lankan batsmen played in Rajkot, they should not worry too much about their batting but a big question mark hangs against their bowling.

The things may become even more difficult for Sri Lanka as they have lost two of the seasoned players - Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando who have been ruled out of the series due to finger injuries.

Wise decision

The Lankan team management has taken a wise decision to rest injured Muralitharan with future series in mind. That would enable the world's leading wicket taker in both forms of the game to recover fully from the finger injury. Meanwhile, quickie Fernando who hurt his finger during that last game in Rajkot, too will be out of action, considerably reducing the strength of the Lankan bowling department.

Sri Lanka's success in taming the Indian batsmen would now depend on how the off breaks of Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Suraj Randiv work.

They have not been tested yet and it will be interesting how the duo perform, along with paceman Lasith Malinga who is set to return to the side after missing the first ODI due to an injury.