Gaji
After two fruitless months in Australia, India decided to free their minds ahead of what could have been their last game of the tour. And it worked. Nobody at the Bellerive Oval gave them a chance of chasing down Sri Lanka’s gargantuan 320 for four, let alone doing it in less than 40 overs to earn the bonus point and keep alive their hopes of making it to the finals.
However, the Men in Blue did it in style thanks to Virat Kohli, who blasted an unbeaten 133 off 86 balls. With cameos from the other four specialist batsmen, India did the unthinkable by achieving the target off just 36.4 overs.
The victory meant India will prolong their tour by at least three days. But if Australia beat Sri Lanka in the last league tie of the CB Series in Melbourne on Friday, it will be India who will face the hosts in the best-of-three finals.
Victory with a bonus was the only way for India to stay alive and it didn’t come as a surprise when skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni put Sri Lanka in to bat. However, once Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara had feasted on the Indian attack, it looked near-impossible that they would knock off the required 321 runs in 40 overs to earn the bonus point.
However, the Men in Blue did it in style thanks to Virat Kohli, who blasted an unbeaten 133 off 86 balls. With cameos from the other four specialist batsmen, India did the unthinkable by achieving the target off just 36.4 overs.
The victory meant India will prolong their tour by at least three days. But if Australia beat Sri Lanka in the last league tie of the CB Series in Melbourne on Friday, it will be India who will face the hosts in the best-of-three finals.
Victory with a bonus was the only way for India to stay alive and it didn’t come as a surprise when skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni put Sri Lanka in to bat. However, once Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara had feasted on the Indian attack, it looked near-impossible that they would knock off the required 321 runs in 40 overs to earn the bonus point.
