Either side of being flayed by Virender Sehwag and bowling too many no-balls, Chanaka Welegedara stemmed the Indian batting tide by picking up five wickets. But with Yuvraj Singh marking his return to the XI with 74 from 84 balls, and MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja all contributing decent cameos, Sri Lanka were still left to chase 280 for victory under lights. With dew expected to be a factor, though perhaps less so than on Monday, Kumar Sangakkara's side were marginal favourites. Sehwag had romped to 47 from 30 balls before playing too early at one bowled with fingers rolled across the seam from round the wicket, and after his exit, India had to build steadily on a surface where the ball didn't always come on to the bat. He had announced his intentions from the outset, off-driving Welegedara for four, but there was an early setback for the Indians as he sneaked a yorker underneath Gautam Gambhir's bat and on to the base of leg stump.
With Sehwag taking Suranga Lakmal for three fours in an over, and Virat Kohli playing a lovely straight drive, the 50 of the innings came in just the seventh over. The game changed, though, in the space of two eventful overs from Welegedara. Sehwag had scythed two off-side fours and been caught behind off a no-ball by the time Kohli tried too cute a deflection to a ball pitched outside off stump. Having conceded 18 in that over, Welegedara came back in the next to have Sehwag caught at mid-off by Lahiru Thirimanne.
India had taken 76 from the first Powerplay, but only 13 came from the bowling one as the bowlers kept a leash on the new batsmen. Both Yuvraj and Dhoni clipped boundaries through point, but with Suraj Randiv getting pretty sharp turn, and Thilina Kandamby filling in with part-time spin, the runs were no longer coming at Sehwag pace.
When Muthumudalige Pushpakumara went off injured after a dive in the outfield, Sangakkara had to turn to his occasional bowlers, and Yuvraj quickly cashed in, pulling Thilan Samaraweera for four and then heaving Kandamby for two consecutive sixes to reach his half-century. At that point, Thissara Perara, deputising for Chamara Silva, was called on, and Dhoni's attempt to force the issue only found Sangakkara's gloves. Soon after, he induced a miscued pull from Yuvraj, and by the time the batting Powerplay was taken after 43 overs, there were only 225 on the board.
They took 14 from the first of those overs, bowled by Welegedara, but with Jadeja going four-six-four-four against Thilan Thushara, the innings finally had some energy. But back came Sri Lanka again, with Welegedara castling Raina and Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan playing a hideous stroke to point. By the time Jadeja holed out in the final over, all hopes of 300 had long since disappeared, leaving Sri Lanka, even without Tillakaratne Dilshan's explosive presence at the top, quietly confident of maintaining their perfect start to the tournament.
