India v Sri Lanka, 7th ODI, Baroda

Dhoni seals a 6-1 drubbing

The Bulletin by S Rajesh

November 12, 2005

India 245 for 5 (Dhoni 80) beat Sri Lanka 244 for 9 (Arnold 68, Atapattu 59) by 5 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

MS Dhoni was in fine fettle once again, his exploits getting him the Man of the Series award © Getty Images

Another superb performance in the field and with the bat ensured that India finished the series just as they started it - with a thumping victory. The margin this time was five wickets, as the Indians, led by a 73-ball 80 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, chased down their target of 245 with a whopping 63 deliveries to spare to seal the series 6-1 at the IPCL Ground in Baroda.

Desperately searching for a win to salvage a series which has gone horribly wrong, Sri Lanka started poorly after choosing to bat, slumping to 85 for 5. Russel Arnold (68) and Marvan Atapattu (59) salvaged the situation with a 133-run stand to lift them to a reasonable total, but with Muttiah Muralitharan not in the line-up, the target was hardly a test. Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan - promoted to No. 3 again - struck rapid 35s to get India off to a cracking start, before Dhoni piled on the misery with an aggressive yet sensible knock.

As has happened through most of the series, Sri Lanka were again let down by their top-order batting and their new-ball bowlers. On a pitch which showed variable pace and bounce and offered the fast bowlers some movement, Atapattu's decision to bat first backfired early, and then, when Atapattu and Arnold gave them something to bowl at, they leaked runs at the start, conceding as many as 115 in the first 15 overs. Though they managed to take a few wickets, the asking rate had come down so drastically by then that the rest was a canter.

The Indian think-tank has insisted on experimenting with players and positions throughout this series, and they continued with this at the IPCL Ground. After Sehwag creamed a crisp and characteristic cameo - his last nine innings have now been in the narrow band between 19 and 48 - Pathan walked out and immediately had the home crowd on their feet with a blistering knock, including an astonishing cover-driven six off Nuwan Zoysa and a pull into the stands off Dilhara Fernando.

Sachin Tendulkar seemed to be finding his groove after taking a knock on his fingers early on, but when Zoysa nailed Pathan - courtesy a stunning running catch by Mahela Jayawardene - and Tendulkar in the same over, Sri Lanka had just a glimmer.

Rahul Dravid and Dhoni shut them out with an efficiency which has typified India's performance in this series. Dhoni ended up with nine fours and three sixes, but the big hits came only after he had spent enough time at the crease and ensured against a collapse. The early strokes were mostly nudged singles, and even the boundaries were caressed - a steer wide off point, a push through extra cover - not bludgeoned. He fell in trying to repeat the final flourish from Pune, but by then the match had been sealed. Fittingly, Dravid nailed the final blow with a smooth off-drive off Chaminda Vaas to end a series which has been extremely satisfying for him - he finished with a tally of 312 runs at an average of 156 - and the team.

A total of 244 was unlikely to be enough, but Sri Lanka seemed to be heading for a sub-200 total when they had lost half their side for 85 at the halfway stage. Their experiment with Thilan Samaraweera as Sanath Jayasuriya's replacement failed miserably, while RP Singh - who again bowled with plenty of control and verve - nipped a mini fightback in the bud with three wickets in two overs.

Atapattu and Arnold then went about cleaning up the mess. They first targeted Murali Kartik, who was easily the weakest cog in the Indian bowling wheel - Arnold smashed him over long-on for six, and then, in the 39th over of the innings, Kartik was taken for 15 as Atapattu swept him twice and Arnold creamed him to the cover fence. That set the tone, as 74 came in the eight overs between 39 and 46.

Arnold was the master of the sweep shot, forcing Kartik out of the attack and Harbhajan Singh to repeatedly change his line of attack. And to anything slightly wide, he expertly used the pace of the ball to run it to third man. Atapattu, meanwhile fluently used his feet against the spinners, and by the end was even confident enough to attempt, and pull off, a cheeky dab over fine leg off Ajit Agarkar. Both fell off consecutive balls to Pathan, and while they had ensured a respectable total, it was far from adequate against an Indian team on the rampage.

How they were out

Sri Lanka

Upul Tharanga c Dravid b Pathan 6 (11 for 1)
Nibbled at an outswinger and edged to first slip

Thilan Samaraweera c Harbhajan b Agarkar 6 (20 for 2)
Mistimed a flick straight to midwicket

Mahela Jayawardene c Kartik b RP Singh 20 (77 for 3)
Turned one to short midwicket

Kumar Sangakkara c Yuvraj b RP Singh 32 (80 for 4)
Top-edged a short-arm pull straight up in the air

Tillakaratne Dilshan c Dhoni b RP Singh 4 (85 for 5)
Thin nick as he thrashed at one

Marvan Atapattu c Harbhajan b Pathan 59 (218 for 6)
Lofted to deep backward square leg

Russel Arnold c Harbhajan b Pathan 68 (218 for 7)
Sliced one to the point boundary

Dilhara Lokuhettige b Agarkar 5 (227 for 8)
Missed a swinging full-toss

Chaminda Vaas c Yuvraj b Kartik 11 (244 for 9)
Hoick to deep midwicket

India

Virender Sehwag c Sangakkara v Fernando 35 (53 for 1)
Tried to flick one which was perfectly pitched on off

Irfan Pathan c Jayawardene b Zoysa 35 (109 for 2)
Skied one to wide long-on, superb running catch

Sachin Tendulkar c & b Zoysa 39 (115 for 3)
Completely deceived by a well-disguised slower ball, chipped a return catch

Mohammad Kaif b Lokuhettige 13 (157 for 4)
Bowled off his pads while trying to flick

Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Samaraweera b Chandana 80 (240 for 5)
Lofted one to long-off

S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo.

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