By ICF Staff
October 25 2005

A team effort from India results in a massive defeat for Sri Lanka, the second-ranked ODI team, in the opening ODI of the 7-ODI series. Sachin Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan, batting at the top of the order, gave India a platform that proved insurmountable for the Sri Lankans.

Promoting Pathan to number 3 as pinch-hitter, a surprising idea that paid dividends, originated from Tendulkar, who had used Pathan in just such a role about a year back as West Zone captain in a Duleep Trophy match.

"You can't set a field for Sachin when he is in such a mood. It is hard to contain him when he is in full flow," rued Sri Lankan captain Marvin Atapattu after his team's 152-run rout in Nagpur.

Rarely have Muthiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, two of the highest-ranked ODI bowlers in the world, been punished as they were today.

The run-a-ball innings of 93 was vintage Sachin, cheered every step of the way by a stadium crowd of 40,000 at Nagpur, whose curator Kishor Pradhan came up with just the sort of wicket that Sourav Ganguly had asked of him when Australia played here last year, but famously refused to oblige instead preparing a bouncy seamer which eventually won Australia the Test series.

Pathan's 83 off 70 was a stunning success which ably supported Tendulkar to build a winning platform, but captain Rahul Dravid later made it clear that Pathan should be seen as a bowler first and then a useful batter.

Dravid himself hit an atypically aggressive unbeaten innings of 85 off 63, including 18 runs off the last over. Mahendra Dhoni added a double-quick 38, resulting in a massive total of 350, the highest ODI score in Nagpur.

Given a required run rate of 7, Sri Lankan batsmen Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara were running along at 7.5 despite the early fall of captain Atapattu bowled by Pathan.

However, Dravid's clever ploy of slowing down the Sri Lankans by opting against using the second power play after the 10th over, instead prematurely bringing on Harbhajan Singh who responded brilliantly to topple the Lankan top order, put paid to any Lankan dreams of making a match of it.

Jayasuriya was sent back in Harbhajan's second over caught in the covers, and Sangakkara was caught-and-bowled by Sehwag in the next over. Harbhajan struck quickly again to send back Upul Chandana in single digits and Russell Arnold for a duck to have the visitors reeling.

Murali Karthik sliced through the lower order and tail with help from debutant paceman Sreesanth, who was brought back and duly picked up a couple of tailenders to end the Lankan innings at 198.

Sachin Tendulkar played an unrestrained innings that he appeared to enjoy as much as the spectators. His presence on the field and in the dressing room made India a much superior unit, outclassing the favored Lankans who will have to summon all their experience and skill to bounce back in Mohali.