Thursday, December 03, 2009

India Lead the Mumbai test Sehwag leads the day

Sehwag
Virender Sehwag smashed the second fastest double century in Test cricket and Rahul Dravid completed a fifty as India dominated with the bat on Day 2, in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, at the Brabourne stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.

Sehwag celebrated the return of Test cricket to the Cricket Club of India (CCI) after nearly 37 years with an unbeaten 284 off 239 deliveries, batting nearly six hours and hitting as many as 40 boundaries and seven sixes.

At the other end, Dravid also looked quite comfortable as he finished unbeaten on 62 from 121 deliveries (five boundaries), the two batsmen having already added 222 runs in 224 deliveries for the second wicket.

India went past their own record for most runs in a day, as they finished Day 2 on a mammoth 443 for 1 in 79 overs, a lead of 50 runs, after Sri Lanka were dismissed for 393 in their innings. India's previous best score in a day's play was 419, which they put up in the previous Test in Kanpur.

The day belonged to Sehwag as he registered his sixth double century in Test cricket and his second double against Sri Lanka after the 201 not out he made in Galle last year.

Sehwag single-handedly dominated proceedings on the second day and was involved in two successive double century partnerships for the first and second wickets.

Murali Vijay, playing in only his second Test, played a fluent innings of 87 from 121 deliveries, having hit ten boundaries and a six, before he was dismissed leg before wicket by Rangana Herath.

The Tamil Nadu opener played a vital role in helping India get off to a blazing start as he added 221 runs for the opening wicket with Sehwag.

Earlier, Angelo Mathews fell agonizingly short of a maiden Test century when he was run-out for 99. Resuming on their overnight score of 366 for eight, Sri Lanka lasted 26 minutes on the second day, adding 27 runs before losing their last two wickets in 34 deliveries.

All-rounder Mathews was the first wicket to fall on the second day as he attempted a tight second run to complete his century, but Sachin Tendulkar caught him short with a brilliant throw from deep square leg.

Mathews stroked a breezy 99 from 131 deliveries, having hit 15 boundaries, before his dismissal reduced the visitors to 379 for nine in the 93rd over.

Pragyan Ojha finished off the innings when he trapped Chanaka Welegedara leg before wicket for eight. Harbhajan Singh finished as the most successful bowler for India, with figures of four for 112 in 32 overs, while Ojha claimed three for 101 in 23.4 overs.

On Day 1, Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed 109 from 160 deliveries, inclusive of ten boundaries and two sixes, his second century of the series to give the visitors a fine start.

India lead the three-match series 1-0 following their victory in the second Test at Kanpur by an innings and 144 runs. The first Test in Ahmedabad had ended in a high scoring draw.

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