The left-handed batsman has been using his patented, premeditated shot with more regularity against the fast bowlers as he’s finding his feet in international cricket. For spinners, he makes a bigger effort — a little jump to get under the ball before hitting through the line. After an extraordinary 2008, he has already shown signs of early form this season, suggesting that 2009 may be no different.

At the end of a match in which Muttiah Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in one-day cricket, the only statistic that seemed to matter was India’s nine straight wins in a row. India set Lanka a victory target of 333, and completed a 67-run victory to take a 4-0 lead in the series.

The day belonged to Gambhir, though. The 27-year-old, who instinctively places his tongue over his upper lip while going for big shots, showed sheer contempt for the bowling in the fourth ODI, using his feet to bring up his sixth ODI century.

Gambhir’s early indulgence against Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara and Farveez Maharoof made up for Sehwag’s quick dismissal. By the time he tried to run Muralitharan to third-man — only to edge it to the ‘keeper — India were well on their way to victory.

Gambhir held centre-stage for 214 of the 227 minutes that the Indian innings lasted. He stitched together a partnership of 188 off 184 balls with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni — who came in at No 3 — and then put on another 103 off just 75 deliveries with Suresh Raina for the fifth wicket.

Dhoni, moving to his beloved No 3, came up with yet another typical new-age innings, only throwing hints of the old dasher while staying calm and calculated for a 96-ball 94 that was helped by a generous dose of fielding errors and dropped chances.

Crowd trouble

Even at the halfway stage, the match looked a no-contest. Unfortunately, one of the talking points of the run-chase came when a fan threw a stone at Pragyan Ojha, leading to a 22-minute interruption.

The Indian team, according to sources, have lodged a complaint with the ICC match referee over repeated incidents of stone-throwing in the series even as Chris Broad independently initiated an inquiry.

He also directed Sri Lankan Cricket to upgrade security measures. When contacted, manager Prakash Dixit denied giving a written complaint but admitted the management has reached an understanding with the referee that if the incident recurs, the Indian team would walk away from the match.

But Lanka, despite a bright start by the top order, crumbled long before the floodlights went off at the Premadasa.