Sachin Tendulkar smashed 93 off 96 balls on his return from an elbow injury as India whipped Sri Lanka by 152 runs on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series.
Irfan Pathan hit a career-best 83 and new captain Rahul Dravid stroked an unbeaten 85 off 63 balls to lift India to 350-6 from 50 overs in perfect batting conditions at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground.
Sri Lanka managed only 198 in reply as off-spinner Harbhajan Singh grabbed three wickets in his first three overs and super-sub Murali Kartik polished off the tail with his left-arm spin.
PHOTO: AFP
Kumar Sangakkara's 43 was the top score for Sri Lanka, who were struggling at 126-8 before Chaminda Vaas (37 not out) and super-sub Dilhara Lokuhettige (29) delayed the inevitable.
Tendulkar, the world's most successful limited-overs batsman, showed no signs of the tennis-elbow injury that kept him away from the game for six months as he plundered nine boundaries and two sixes.
The 32-year-old, playing his first international match since the April 17 one-dayer against Pakistan in New Delhi, did not look back after taking two consecutive boundaries in seamer Farveez Maharoof's opening over.
PHOTO: EPA
Tendulkar, whose much-awaited return was watched by a sell-out crowd of 40,000 home fans at the stadium and millions on television, took his world-record tally to 13,735 runs from 349 matches.
Left-hander Pathan, promoted to number three, revelled in his new role as a pinch-hitter by blasting eight fours and four sixes during a second-wicket stand of 164 with Tendulkar.
The duo took the Sri Lankan attack apart in hot and humid conditions before both batsmen fell in successive overs trying to force the pace.
Pathan holed out to point off Tillakaratne Dilshan, while Tendulkar narrowly failed to increase his record haul of 38 one-day centuries when he edged Maharoof to wicket-keeper Sangakkara.
Dravid, who won the toss and elected to take first strike, hit eight fours and a six as India smashed 100 runs in the final 10 overs.
When Sri Lanka batted, Sanath Jayasuriya (27) and Sangakkara overcame the loss of captain Marvan Atapattu in the third over to add 64 for the second wicket by the 10th over.
But Dravid's bold gamble to bring on Harbhajan in the 11th over paid off as the off-spinner had Jayasuriya jabbing his second delivery to the captain in the covers.
Virender Sehwag, who made only 20 with the bat, struck with his third ball when Sangakkara lobbed back an easy return catch as Sri Lanka slipped to 76-3 by the 12th over.
Harbhajan then had Upul Chandana stumped and clean bowled Russel Arnold in the space of four deliveries to open up the Sri Lankan lower order.
The second match in the series will be played under lights in Mohali on Friday.
South Africa vs New Zealand
Justin Kemp hit a power-packed 73 as South Africa squeezed a two-wicket win in the first one-day international against New Zealand at Springbok Park on Sunday.
Kemp shared successive stands of 65 with Mark Boucher (33) for the sixth wicket and Shaun Pollock (37) for the seventh as South Africa pulled off a victory that stretched their unbeaten streak to 15 one-day internationals.
There was a wobble towards the end when Pollock and Kemp were both caught on the boundary within the space of three balls in the 49th over against off-spinner Jeetan Patel when only three runs were needed.
But Nicky Boje hit a two off the first ball of the final over from Shane Bond before, with all the fielders up to prevent a single, he skied the third delivery just out of the reach of a diving New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming, for the winning run.
Both Kemp and Pollock survived chances before taking South Africa to their target of 250.
Fleming said New Zealand's 249 for eight was a "reasonable total" on a slow pitch against accurate bowling and lively fielding.
Craig McMillan top-scored with 66 and shared a fifth-wicket stand of 75 off 103 balls with Jacob Oram (35).
Fleming made a sparkling 45 off 48 balls with nine boundaries but the batsmen generally had difficulty in pushing the score along on a pitch that was unusually slow for Bloemfontein.
England vs Pakistan
England captain Michael Vaughan has insisted there will be no "Ashes let-down" for his side when they play Pakistan.
England's dramatic 2-1 home series defeat of Australia, the world's No. 1 ranked Test team, gave them the Ashes for the first time in 18 years and inspired a huge surge in cricket's popularity in the land of its birth.
But on the eve of England's departure for a three-Test and seven one-day match tour, Vaughan told reporters on Monday that his side would have to be at their best to win in Pakistan.
There are only five survivors from England's successful 1-0 win in a three-Test series on their last tour of Pakistan in 2000-2001 -- Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, Ashley Giles, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff -- in the current squad and Vaughan said his team would have to adapt quickly to the conditions.
"It's a big challenge and opportunity for the team to continue the progress we made in the summer," said Vaughan, a sight-screen pusher when England won five years ago in fading light in Karachi to clinch a dramatic Test and series win.
Pakistan pitches traditionally offer plenty of assistance to spin bowlers and although Bob Woolmer -- Pakistan coach and former England batsman -- recently contradicted his captain Inzamam-ul-Haq by saying he wanted to play the series on good, rather than turning, wickets, Vaughan was in no doubt about what sort of surfaces would confront his men.
"I would be very surprised if we go to Pakistan and it doesn't spin. But we have become decent players of spin over the last few years," Vaughan said.
England will be without injured reverse-swing specialist Simon Jones, one of their Ashes stars.
England play their first tour match in Rawalpindi, a three-day game, starting on Oct. 31 with the first Test at Multan commencing on Nov. 12.
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