Jayawardenes leave India chasing huge lead
Posted on Nov 19, 2009 at 10:02 | Updated Nov 19, 2009 at 20:06
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Ahmedabad: India fought back gallantly in their bid to save the first Test but were still not completely out of danger after Sri Lanka piled up agony on the hosts with a record-breaking run deluge here on Thursday.
After being buried by a massive 334-run first innings lead mainly built around a world record sixth wicket partnership between Mahela Jayawardene (275) and Prasanna Jayawardene (154 not out), the Indians reached 190 for two in their second innings at stumps on the penultimate day, still trailing by 144 runs.
The hosts still have a daunting task to prevent the Lankans from recording their first Test triumph on Indian soil as they have to bat out the entire last day on a Motera track which was expected to deteriorate and assist the spinners.
But the Indians have an experienced batting line-up and should fancy their chances of saving the match which has turned out to be a nightmare for the bowlers.
Gautam Gambhir (74) and night watchman Amit Mishra (12) were at the crease at stumps on a day which saw Mahela and Prasanna breaking the 72-year-old world record for the highest sixth-wicket partnership in Tests by putting on a 351-run stand.
The home team first lost Virender Sehwag (51) and then Rahul Dravid (38) was distincly unlucky to get a dubious leg before decision at the fag end of the day.
The hosts started off confidently with Sehwag and Gambhir putting on 81 runs before spinner Rangana Harath provided the breakthrough for the visitors.
Sehwag perished to an injudicious stroke and offered a simple catch to Angelo Mathews and the Indians suffered a big jolt towards the end of the day when Dravid was adjudged leg before to Welegedara delivery which television replays showed would have missed the leg stump.
Resuming at the overnight score of 591 for five, the Sri Lankas carried on from where they had left and ensured that a number of batting records fell by the wayside.
The sixth wicket partnership between the two Jayawardenes sunk the 72-year-old record set by Jack Fingleton and Donald Bradman for Australia against England in the last Ashes series held before World War II, in 1936-37, at Melbourne.
Mahela, who struck 27 fours a six in his stupendous and energy-sapping knock fell to the 435th ball he faced, bowled by a struggling Amit Mishra.
Mahela, who added eight runs to his lunch-time score and also overtook Pakistan's Younis Khan's 267 made at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in March, 2005 to become the highest individual scorer from a visiting team in India, departed in the third over of the post-lunch session.
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