Sanga shows the way

For a better part of a month,Kumar Sangakkara has been at the receiving end of questions regarding his teams calibre...

For a better part of a month,Kumar Sangakkara has been at the receiving end of questions regarding his teams calibre on what has proved to be a disastrous tour for Sri Lanka so far. Tired of admitting his teams inadequacies at the Test level,and their ill luck in the three-matches series they lost 2-0,Sangakkara has been desperate to put on a better show in the limited-over formats.

On Wednesday,the Lankan skipper walked out like a man possessed following Sanath Jayasuriyas dismissal in the opening Twenty20 international. By the time he finished run-out on the last ball of the innings after a 37-ball 78 he had taken his team team to 215 for five,setting India a massive victory target at the VCA Stadium.

The home side started the chase well,Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir looking in the mood to punish the Lankans as they had done in the Tests. But with neither lasting long enough to do any real damage,the reply fell apart pretty quickly as India ended 29 runs short.

Fielding meltdown

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Despite his ultra-aggressive intent,most of Sangakkaras boundaries 11 fours and two sixes were conventional in nature. Never allowing the spinners to settle,he either danced down the track against Pragyan Ojha and Yusuf Pathan,or hit some clever reverse-sweeps,bringing up his 50 in just 21 balls.

The seamers got no respite either as he got involved in crucial partnerships of 74 with Tillakaratane Dilshan for the second wicket,and 69 for the fourth with Chamara Kapugedera,who chipped in with a fiery 20-ball 47.

Meanwhile,the Indian fielding seemed to have a complete meltdown on Wednesday,ranging from the comical to the ridiculous as they dropped four catches and missed a simple run-out over the course of the 20 overs. So poor was the standard that Mike Young,recently appointed the teams fielding consultant,would have spent his first vigil in the team dug-out wondering what he had got himself into.

Among the bowlers,Ishant Sharma was impressive during his first spell of 3-0-7-0,but four of the others finished with their economy rates in double digits. Debutant Ashoke Dinda at least had the pleasure of cutting short Jayasuriyas innings for a 20-ball 26,but Ashish Nehra had a costly initiation into T20 internationals,going for 54 runs in his four overs including a period where he was hit for nine fours in 10 balls.

Batting collapse

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In response,Gambhir and Sehwag put on 32 runs in the first three overs,and it looked like India could make a match of it. And even though Sehwag fell in an attempt to clear Angelo Mathews at deep point,his partner never lost momentum.

Gambhir,back after missing the final Test,took the attack right to the Sri Lankans and he brought up his half-century off only 19 balls two less than Sangakkara smashing Lasith Malinga for four boundaries in his first over. But while Sangakkara carried on till the very end,the Indian opener fell soon after.

The rest of the batsmen made only brief appearances at the crease,and India lost five wickets for 22 runs,Jayasuriya getting rid of MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan in a spell of two for 19. In the end,Nehras 13-ball 22,which included two consecutive sixes,could only provide comic relief on a depressing day for the home team and their fans.