Mahela Jayawardene in action during his innings of 65 in the third ODI © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Colombo: Jul 28, 2012
Half-centuries by Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews and Mahela Jayawardene propelled Sri Lanka to a huge score of 286 for five in their third ODI against India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
After making a disastrous start losing three wickets for just 20 runs, Sri Lanka recovered to 286 for five from their allotted 50 overs.
A 121-run partnership between Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and late slogging by Angelo Mathews along with Jeevan Mendis propelled Sri Lanka to 286 in the third One-Day International (ODI) against India at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
After winning the toss, the hosts failed to make an impressive start as the explosive batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan was dismissed early as he was bowled off the bowling of Zaheer Khan in the third over.
Zaheer followed the wicket by removing the other opener Upul Tharanga who struggled to connect to the bowl in his innings. Tharanga failed to replicate his performance from the previous match where he scored an unbeaten 59 runs to guide the hosts to a comfortable nine-wicket win.
Irfan Pathan too tasted success early in his first spell as he trapped Dinesh Chandimal for a duck in the sixth over.
But the experienced duo of Sangakkara and Jayawardene began resurrection of Sri Lankan innings.
Despite the early success, the Indian team failed to dislodge either of the batsmen as the duo continued to grind the Indian bowlers for the fourth wicket. They reached their 14th hundred-run partnership in ODIs.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 286 for 5 in 50 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 73, Angelo Mathews 71*, Mahela Jayawardene 65, Jeevan Mendis 45*; Zaheer Khan 2 for 39) vs India
