Teenager Ishant Sharma gave a superb display of fast bowling to help India square the series with a 170-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test yesterday.
Sharma finished with three for 20 off 15 testing overs as Sri Lanka were shot out for 136 in their second innings in the closing session on the fourth day chasing a challenging 307-run target.
India lost the opening match of the three-Test series by an innings and 239 runs. The final match starts in Colombo on Friday.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (4-51) and leg-spinner (2-41) built on Sharma’s effort to help their team win with more than a day to spare.
Harbhajan, who took six wickets in the first innings, completed his fifth haul of 10 or more wickets in a Test.
The 19-year-old Sharma wrecked Sri Lanka’s top order with two quick wickets in a sharp opening spell, before returning to break a stubborn partnership in his second spell.
Sri Lanka were on the back foot following Sharma’s double-strike, before collapsing against spin late in the day. The hosts lost their last five wickets for just six runs, with Harbhajan taking three and Kumble two.
The hosts began the chase on a disastrous note as they lost three wickets for a meager 10 runs in the opening four overs, with Sharma taking two and left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan one.
India’s spinners were expected to call the shots on a wearing track, but the tourists seized the advantage through their fast bowlers as Sharma unsettled the batsmen with his pace and bounce and Zaheer with his movement.
Thilan Samaraweera (67 not out) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (38) alone defied the Indian pace-spin combination with a 76-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Sharma broke the stand immediately after tea when he had Dilshan caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. Harbhajan had Prasanna Jayawardene caught by Sourav Ganguly, who took a well-judged catch at square-leg.
Sri Lanka were in deep trouble after losing Kumar Sangakkara (1) and in-form skipper Mahela Jayawardene (5), who are known for playing long innings.
Sharma, who removed Malinda Warnapura with his third ball, got the big wicket when he had Jayawardene caught by Rahul Dravid at gully. Jayawardene scored a century in the opening Test and 86 in the first innings.
Zaheer struck in his second over when he dismissed Sangakkara, beaten by the movement to be caught by Venkatsai Laxman at second slip.
Michael Vandort was dropped before he had opened his account when Dravid failed to latch on to a high catch at third slip in Zaheer’s opening over.
The Sri Lanka batsman was on 6 when he offered another chance, this time Dravid holding the catch, but it came off a Zaheer no-ball. His uncomfortable stay at the crease ended when he fell leg before wicket in Harbhajan’s opening over.
India earlier faltered against Sri Lanka spinners Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan as they were bowled out for 269 after resuming on 200-4. They lost their last five wickets for 17 runs in a dramatic collapse.
Unorthodox spinner Mendis, who took six wickets in the first innings, finished with four for 92 to complete a maiden 10-wicket haul in only his second Test.Muralitharan took two wickets in the morning to finish with three for 107.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS