Team India want to rub it in

But the young Indian one-day team have done their bit to wipe away those memories.

And while the series has been pocketed with the 3-1 scoreline, the temptation of making that 4-1 is very much on the minds of every member in the Indian dressing room. “There will be some celebrations,” said Suresh Raina, who was named Man of the Match for his solid 76 in India’s middle overs. “We always celebrate every win in style. But there’s one more match left in the series.”

The celebrations only included an impromptu jig from Irfan Pathan and soft drink cans being popped open as music blared through the window panes. There were also a fair number of happy handshakes and a few chest-thumps to go with it.

Wednesday’s victory was a grand team effort with solid contributions from seven of the playing 11. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli played their part in putting up an impressive 258 on the board, while Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh shone under the lights with ball in hand.

Only twice did they look like not being in the driver’s seat. First when they frittered away a solid middle-over partnership by losing seven wickets for 34 to settle for 258, and then again when Sanath Jayasuriya went about scoring 60 off 52 balls to give the hosts a snappy start.

But Munaf Patel’s disciplined bowling gave him two early wickets to even Jayasuriya’s presence out. And when Harbhajan, in the 18th over, got the ball to spin viciously across Jayasuriya’s angled bat, and Suresh Raina completed a good diving catch at slip, it was the beginning of the end.

Mahela Jayawardene scored a watchful 16 from 40 deliveries, but was run out after a slight misunderstanding with Chamara Kapugedera to snuff out any hopes of a fightback. And though Thilan Thushara managed to delay the inevitable with a fiery 40 off 29 balls, India were never really threatened.

... contd.