INDIA TRASH SRILANKA IN ONE OFF T20

 Virat Kohli continued to be imperious, and Irfan Pathan impressed once again, as India completed a successful limited-overs campaign in Sri Lanka with a comfortable win in the only T20 international on the tour. Kohli was in complete command, picking gaps at will, finding boundaries with minimum effort, even off the occasional mistimed shot, and helped take India to 155. Irfan, who found considerable swing, undermined a Sri Lankan fightback with the ball in the death overs by dismissing three senior Sri Lanka batsmen and was backed up by a containing effort by the rest.

The game began brightly for Sri Lanka, with Shaminda Eranga completing a unique achievement; his wicket off Gautam Gambhir meant he's now picked up a wicket in the first over of his debuts in Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals. But Kohli's entry to the crease ensured that early high was short-lived.

Sri Lanka's bowlers targeted the off side, Kohli's preferred areas being through square leg and midwicket, and bowled to their field, but such was his dominance that no part of the ground was secure. A short ball from Angelo Mathews was clubbed over midwicket, a good length delivery next ball was guided through point and Eranga was taken for fours to each part of the off side - point, extra cover and then mid-off, though two of those shots were mistimed.

When Thisara Perera was brought on in the sixth over, he made the mistake of bowling too straight and was promptly struck for three fours in a row, two past short fine leg. His low backlift helped Kohli to adapt easily to deliveries that were pushed in fuller and his wristwork, as always, was his primary weapon. Thirty-six off his first 38 runs came in boundaries.

The introduction of spin after the field restrictions slowed India down, and accounted for Rahane's wicket as he drove one straight back at Jeevan Mendis. Overs nine to 12 yielded only 25, though they included a six and a four from Kohli as he charged out of the crease on each occasion.

Suresh Raina walked in ahead of Rohit Sharma and picked up a couple of neatly-clipped fours off Eranga and Perera through the leg side. Kohli survived a close run-out chance but following a stand of 48, he timed one shot a touch too well, smacking a slower one from Eranga straight to deep midwicket. There were some hits and misses from MS Dhoni that gave him some frustrating moments and even though Raina dispatched Lasith Malinga over long-off, the Sri Lankan seamers were largely accurate in their lengths in the final few overs. Only 31 came off the last five, but India were not made to rue that slip.

Irfan was off target on occasion - his first ball was wide and cut for four - but got the ball to move in through the air and castled Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over. The ball curved away from the left-handed Upul Tharaga and he chased a wide one in Irfan's next over to be caught at slip. Mahela Jayawardene, who opened the batting, threatened a counter-attack, targeting Umesh Yadav. He used Yadav's pace to guide him for fours through third man and point, then cut and whipped him in the same over to collect 17 runs off it. But his stay, too, was ended by an Irfan inswinger in the fifth over. Jayawardene moved back and closed the face but was struck on the pads just in line with leg stump.

Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews tried to maintain the tempo, stepping out and going over the top and adding 33 in quick time. But Thirimanne's attempt to reverse-sweep a straight ball from R Ashwin failed and cost him his wicket. The run-rate slipped, the pressure grew and wickets continued to tumble. Mathews nicked Ashok Dinda - who also cleaned up the tail to finish with four wickets - to the keeper, Jeevan Mendis spooned a catch to extra cover and Perera was run out by a direct hit from Manoj Tiwary, all in a space of 15 deliveries.

Seven down and with 54 needed off 28, Sri Lanka had to attack and their efforts to do so hastened their end. They'll now look to the Sri Lanka Premier League to sharpen their T20 skills while India await New Zealand before they return to this country for the World T20.

VIRAT KOLHI AND SURESH RAINA LEAD INDIA TO SERIES WIN

 India 255 for 4 (Kohli 128*, Raina 58*) beat Sri Lanka 251 for 8 (Tharanga 51, Thirimanne 47, Tiwary 4-61) by six wickets
Virat Kohli was once again the architect of a successful Indian chase, one that clinched the ODI series for India, who took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Kohli anchored India's response to 251, and was helped along by Suresh Raina, who struck his third half-century of the series, each of them in an Indian win. Both had their moments of fortune, just when Sri Lanka had fought their way back, but once set, they approached the target confidently, never allowing the require-rate to go above six and often being imperious in their shot-making. A game that promised to be close at one point eventually produced a dominant winner

Sri Lanka's seamers put India under pressure, picking up four wickets by the halfway mark in a chase of 252, but Virat Kohli was an assuring presence for the visitors in their bid to take an unassailable lead in the series.

India were dealt an early blow when Lasith Malinga bowled Gautam Gambhir with an inswinging yorker in the first over. Gambhir probably misjudged the length, going hard at the ball. Virender Sehwag, at the other end, was fluent and attacking when the ball was there to be hit, but not rash.

Thisara Perera was involved in each of Sehwag's dismissals this series prior to today's match but it was Sehwag who won the contest today. He drove Perera through the line, then slashed him past third man before punching him through the covers. Sehwag defended solidly and was circumspect when needed, displaying an intent to bat long. His two boundaries off Perera - his first five boundaries came off Perera's bowling - in the sixth over took minimum effort but had impeccable timing.

His innings, however, was cut short by Angelo Mathews. Sehwag tried to whip a short delivery through midwicket, got a leading edge and was caught by substitute fielder Sachitra Senanayake, who reacted quickly at extra cover, diving to his left. A nervous Rohit Sharma, possibly fighting for a place in the side, walked in with two ducks behind him, played and missed, and got off the mark in desperate fashion, trying to slap a wide delivery over mid-off. He got away, but not for long as debutant Nuwan Pradeep trapped him in front when he tried to drive across the line. The umpire's call to check for a no-ball only prolonged his anxiety, but he knew he'd fluffed another chance.

At 60 for 3, India were under pressure but Kohli batted determinedly. He began with an audacious pull off Malinga but played a supporting role to Sehwag. He survived a run-out chance after Rohit fell, but settled in to rebuild the innings. He ran well with Tiwary, pressing for twos when the field spread, flayed Pradeep through extra cover, was the beneficiary of an overthrow that cost four and took India past 100. Tiwary glanced Pradeep past fine leg, then flicked Perera over square leg but was lbw when trying to sweep a straighter one from Jeevan Mendis. A loud caught-behind appeal gave Suresh Raina some early jitters, and much was left to him and Kohli to see India through.

When it was known that Manoj Tiwary would replace Rahul Sharma, not Rohit Sharma, in India's XI, a depleted bowling attack on a batting-friendly track would have prompted many to question the move. As it turned out, Tiwary had an impact even before he got a chance to bat as he picked up four wickets and helped, along with the other India part-time bowlers, to slow down Sri Lanka's innings and restrict them to 251. Sri Lanka would consider that just about par, especially after a 91-run opening stand, and India were left with a good chance to take the series. Such was the effectiveness of India's non-regular bowlers - they bowled 22 overs for 112 runs and five wickets - that Zaheer Khan only bowled six overs.

Sri Lanka's depth in batting and India's death-overs woes with the ball were two factors the hosts would have aimed to capitalise on. But batsman after batsman struggled to get a move-on. The slowness of the pitch may have played a part in their difficulty in middling the ball consistently, but it certainly shouldn't have prevented them from rotating the strike, running the singles and twos once the field was spread out as the Powerplays were used up by the 20th over. The only batsmen, apart from the openers, who showed it could be done were Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, during their half-century stand for the third wicket.

Chandimal and Thirimanne ran well between the wickets and their 50-run association included just two boundaries. Both batsmen cut the ball well and Chandimal was adept at using the paddle-sweep; the partnership produced seven twos, moved along at close to five an over and was aided by a relatively sloppy performance in the field as misfields were common and Virat Kohli put down a straightforward catch. The pair had played R Ashwin and Virender Sehwag largely comfortably, but Tiwary's introduction in the 32nd over triggered a slide.

Tiwary was unthreatening but steady, his bowling devoid of variations but he found some turn. And, occasionally, he was fortunate. A long hop that could have been dispatched anywhere was struck straight to deep-square leg by Chandimal. When Mahela Jayawardene miscued an attempted sweep to be caught by Dhoni off Sehwag three balls later, Sri Lanka were pushed back into rebuilding mode. That rebuilding was proved time-consuming when Angelo Mathews took too long to open up, playing out a maiden from Tiwary and crawling to 14 off 32 balls. When he decided to attack, he holed out to long-off.

Jeevan Mendis showed some urgency, sweeping and reverse-sweeping Ashwin for boundaries, but Tiwary, who had grown in confidence, not hesitating to toss the ball up in the late overs, was to strike again. Mendis was bowled while missing the reverse-sweep and Thisara Perera struck one straight down deep midwicket's throat in the same over. India would have hoped to wrap up the innings when Thirimanne was bowled for 47 to leave Sri Lanka at 219 for 8.

But the Sri Lanka tail bit back. Dhoni persisted with Tiwary, who was clobbered by Lasith Malinga over midwicket for a six and then went on to concede 18 in the final over of the innings. Malinga targeted cow-corner again and Rangana Herath smashed a four and a six past wide long-on, taking Sri Lanka past 250. This, when Zaheer had four overs left. Dhoni, and India, will believe they have the batting to ensure that last-over slip-up doesn't cost them.

INDIA VS SRI LANKA FOURTH ODI MATCH PREVIEW

 Match facts
Tuesday, July 31
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)

 Big Picture
India's win on Saturday has left Sri Lanka needing to win both remaining matches if they are to take the series. None of the players involved in the series had made their ODI debuts when India last lost a bilateral series in Sri Lanka - that was way back in 1997, when Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva were at the peak of their powers.

 India's successful chase of 287 was the sort of result which would have been extremely unlikely on the pre-World Cup Premadasa track where batting under lights was a challenge. On Saturday, on a pitch with little in it for the bowlers, both sides showed off some high-class one-day batting. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, as they have done countless times before, revived the Sri Lankan innings with unhurried ease, knocking the singles around. That set the stage for Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis to explode at the end, as India leaked 97 in the final ten. For India, it was Gautam Gambhir who top scored with a controlled innings of 102, where he highlighted his nifty footwork against both pace and spin, before Suresh Raina extended a rewarding recent ODI run, with this third half-century in five innings.

The run-fest raised questions about the strength of both sides' bowling. The spearheads, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga, did their job, but the support seamers rarely threatened and the spinners could, at best, contain the runs. Isuru Udana hasn't been an adequate replacement for the injured Nuwan Kulasekara, and India's gamble on Ashok Dinda didn't pay off either.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LWLWW (Completed games, most recent first)
India WLWWL

Watch out for...

Jeevan Mendis took 5 for 76 in the last two ODIs he played in 2011 before he dropped off Sri Lanka's one-day plans, perhaps because he failed with the bat. Given another chance in the final ODI against Pakistan last month, he stepped up with a tight spell, and also a steady 19 towards the end of a tight chase. He boosted his case for a longer run in the side, with a hard-hitting 45 on Saturday, which justified his promotion over the in-form Thisara Perera.

India's death bowling has long been a problem area. In the third ODI, Zaheer bowled eight of his overs in the first two Powerplays, leaving Irfan Pathan and Dinda to finish out the innings. With the strategy of using two fast bowlers to end the innings not working for India, perhaps it is time they used R Ashwin at the death.

Team news

There have already been plenty of headlines about Rohit Sharma's prolonged lean spell, and his golden duck on Saturday is likely to have opened the door for Manoj Tiwary. Legspinner Rahul Sharma did well enough to merit another chance, but Dinda didn't, which could mean that Umesh Yadav will return.

India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Manoj Tiwary, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Rahul Sharma

Sangakkara's finger injury means he will miss only his second ODI in more than two years. The only other one he sat out was a one-dayer against Scotland in 2011. He could be replaced by Lahiru Thirimanne, with Dinesh Chandimal stepping in as wicketkeeper. Udana could be left out after two underwhelming matches, with Nuwan Pradeep as his replacement.

Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Pradeep, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana Herath

Stats and trivia

• If Gautam Gambhir scores 11 or more on Tuesday, he will become the second quickest Indian to reach 5000 ODI runs.
• Lasith Malinga is four wickets short of 200 ODI scalps. He is on track to become the fifth fastest bowler to reach the milestone, and easily the fastest Sri Lankan.

Quotes

"We had a plan to score four to five hundreds as individual batsmen and we have done it twice. Virat [Kohli] and Gautam [Gambhir] scored hundreds, Viru (Virender Sehwag) fell short but, our goal is yet to be reached."

RAINA AND PATHAN STAR IN INDIA'S WIN OVER SRILANKA

 After 28 consecutive wins in home ODIs when they've scored at least 250 batting first, Sri Lanka's amazing run was ended in a nailbiter at the Premadasa. Riding on a superbly paced hundred by Gautam Gambhir, India overcame mid-innings wobbles, including losing two wickets off successive balls, as Suresh Raina - helped along by Irfan Pathan - did the finishing job to perfection. India now lead the five-match series 2-1.

In conditions that offered an even contest between bat and ball, and there were several memorable performances, with fortunes swaying either way several times, till the Raina-Irfan partnership decisively swung it India's way. India held the early ascendancy in the match with three quick wickets, but a top-notch 121-run stand for the fourth wicket between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene edged it in Sri Lanka's favour. Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis further hammered home the advantage with a104-run partnership, including 97 off the last ten, as India's bowling frailties at the death were exposed again. Then, when India's chase appeared on course, Lasith Malinga, who historically hasn't had such a happy time against them, struck twice with the first two balls of the batting Powerplay, at a time when India were fairly comfortably placed, needing 107 off 90 with eight wickets in hand, with MS Dhoni and Gambhir well set. And when Gambhir was found short by a direct hit from Isuru Udana - his one redeeming act on another disappointing bowling day - India seemed to have well and truly lost their way.

The final twist in the tale, though, was still to come. When Pathan joined Raina, the task was steep - 91 runs in 12 overs, with not much batting to come. At that stage, though, Malinga, who had three overs to spare, was pulled out of the attack with three of his overs still in hand; in retrospect, another over at that stage, with both batsmenrelatively new to the crease, might have been worth the risk.

With Malinga not in the attack, both batsmen eked out the runs through intended and unintended methods - flicks, edges, outside edges, inside edges all followed, but crucially for India, they all added to the total and brought down the target. Raina then launched into his trademark meaty hoicks to leg, bringing up his half-century with one such stunning six over long-on off Malinga in the 46th. With both batsmen getting a couple of fours through third man in Malinga's previous over, the asking rate had suddenly come down to seven. India were back in control, and this time they didn't let go.

Till the 36th over of the chase, it seemed India's win might be achieved with far lesser drama, with Gambhir and Virat Kohli - their trusted pair in a run-chase, putting together 105 in quick time after the early loss of Virender Sehwag. Gambhir's was a masterclass, as he took charge of the chase from the start, upper-cutting Malinga in the first over, and then regularly finding the boundaries with square-drives and cuts. Against the spinners, he was always in his comfort zone, chipping into the outfield for twos to stay within touching distance of the asking rate.

Sri Lanka's innings was a story of two high-quality partnerships. Jayawardene's decision to bat first at a venue where recent results have favoured the team chasing seemed to have backfired when ZaheerKhan and Irfan reduced them to 20 for 3. Both bowlers made excellent use of the bounce and seam movement on offer, regularly beating the bat. The wickets followed soon, as Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal all succumbed early.

That's when the class of Sangakkara and Jayawardene shone through. In testing conditions, where strokeplay wasn't easy against the new ball, both batsmen settled in quickly, though Jayawardene was more circumspect early. Sangakkara unfurled a couple of classy drives - straight and square - and also defended expertly, playing with soft hands, into the gaps, for ones and twos. His one testing moment came in the 15th over, when a short one from Ashok Dinda struck him on his right glove; Sangakkara continued batting, but the injury was later diagnosed as a fracture. Jayawardene, meanwhile, settled in and showed his range and silken touch, playing lofted drives on the off side and deft late-cuts off Rahul Sharma, whose extra pace suited him perfectly.

The century partnership duly came up - it was their fifth India, and only one pair has more. They both looked good to post individual hundreds too, but neither did.

When Sangakkara fell in the batting Powerplay, it seemed India had wrested the initiative again, but their slog-over bowling weakness, and some clever, enterprising batting from Mathews and Jeevan Mendis, meant Sri Lanka were the happier team at the break. Mathews had some luck when he was caught-behind off an Irfan no-ball when on 33, but there was also plenty of smart cricket from both. Mendis, brought into the team to replace Lahiru Thirimanne, justified that selection with an enterprising knock, reverse-sweeping Ashwin and then smashing Dinda's friendly short ball over midwicket for the only six of the innings. Mathews was equally enterprising, moving to leg and making room to spank the medium-pacers through the offside.

It seemed their heroics towards the end would be enough, but India's three left-hand batsmen then came to the party.