Tendulkar, Gambhir make tons, match ends in a tame draw

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 21, 2009

commentComment     Email This Post Email This Post     Printable version

Ahmedabad: Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar scored patient centuries as India put up a spirited batting display on the final day to draw the first test match against Sri Lanka.

Gambhir played another marathon innings, playing 110 deliveries for 40 runs on the final day while Sachin made 100 of 211 deliveries. The intentions of Indian batsmen of playing for a draw were very clear right from the beginning and they did full justice to the job given to them. In fact ,by the time the matched reached its final session, the only question left to be answered was whether Sachin would complete his 43rd test century or not.

Sachin, during his long vigil at the crease, also crossed another milestone. He became the first cricketer to cross 30,000 international runs. VVS Laxman too, chipped in with a gritty half century (51 not out off 160 balls).

India began the final day with 8 wickets in hand and 90 overs to bat out while Sri Lanka needed to take 8 wickets to register their first test win on Indian soil. But the tourists couldn’t manage to break their 14-match streak as the Indian batsmen played with a lot of grit and determination. Resuming at 190 for 2, 144 runs behind Sri Lanka on the first innings, India ended with 412 for 4 with Tendulkar, Gambhir and Laxman scoring runs.

Two Indian batsmen were dismissed on the final day — Amit Mishra (24), who surprised everyone with his batting abilities, doing an excellent job in the unaccustomed nightwatchman’s role, and Gambhir who literally threw his wicket after notching up his seventh Test century. Mishra stuck to his task for over 45 minutes after India started the day 144 runs behind the Lankans at 190 for two. The leg-spinner was eventually dismissed by Angelo Mathews, caught brilliantly at leg gully by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Gambhir, who had batted solidly from till then, opened up once he was joined by Tendulkar and raced to his hundred by hitting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two fours before he glanced Mathews to the rope. It was his first hundred against Sri Lanka.

India lost Gambhir in the sixth over of the second session. It was the Delhi left-hander’s third hundred this year in as many Tests since making his marathon match-saving 137 against New Zealand at Napier in March. Gambir, who was awarded the ICC Test Player of the Year, faced 230 balls and struck 13 fours in his marathon six and a half-hour stay.

Tendulkar was joined by Laxman and the duo ensured that there were no more hiccups adding an unbeaten 137-run fifth wicket partnership.

Both the teams now head to Kanpur for the second Test starting on November 24.

It wasn’t really an ideal advertisement for test cricket which is struggling to hold its ground in the wake of the growing popularity of twenty20 cricket. Nearly 1600 runs were scored in the match, with just 21 wickets falling over the five days of the game. Seven centuries were scored in the game which is a record in the sub-continent.

Brief Scores:

India 426 (Dravid 177, Dhoni 110, Welegedara 4-87) and 412 for 4 (Gambhir 114, Tendulkar 100*) drew with Sri Lanka 760 for 7 decl. (Jayawardene 275, Prasanna 154*, Dilshan 112)

Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardene

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,


WPSN comments




Related News Headlines

Cricketain Latest