Madhavrao Scindia Stadium in Rajkot witnessed a truly spectacular ODI contest, where a staggering 825 runs were scored. In the end, India won the photo-finish by three runs.
Chasing an improbable target of 415, the Lankans came screaming close to becoming the second team to chase down more than 400 runs in an ODI, after South Africa’s historic win in Johannesburg in 2006. It was India who held nerve to clinch the humdinger by restricting Sri Lanka to 411 for 8.
Two of the contemporary cricket’s biggest match-winners batted their heart out to give their teams a blistering start. Virender Sehwag (146) and Tillakratane Dilshan (160) were in the zone, where all they could see was the ball and the boundary. While Sehwag’s 102-ball 146 helped India take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, Dilshan’s brilliant 160 augur well for his team in the coming matches. Finally, it was Sehwag who was declared the player of the match for his blinding knock.
