India Wins First Match of Series With Sri Lanka

The first match of the bilateral series between India and Sri Lanka was won by India. India not only won but also proved that they could do it without any huge hiccups.

The match overall was fairly interesting and entertaining. Jayasuriya really played a class knock and showed that he does not mind playing slowly if the situation demands it.

The Indian bowling was also pretty good with certain exceptions. Zaheer Khan did what he does best: pick up wickets, and if like in this match he can't do that, he will definitely hold one end up. Ishant Sharma was also good, and three wickets is quite a lot to get. His economy could have been better, but still it was pretty decent.

Pragyan Ohja was also OK, but he has to be able to do what Harbhajan did; that is to hold one end up or pick up wickets. That's the only way you survive in this game.

The part-timers were also decent. The only problem was Munaf Patel, who really did not look anywhere near picking up wickets. In fact he gave away quite a few runs and Dhoni gave him only five overs, surely an indication of how he bowled.

Other than Jayasuriya, who has now become the oldest cricketer in ODIs to score a century, Sangakkara and Mahroof, who was promoted, looked decent. Jaywardene is having quite a bad run, but I really hope we can see him in better form.

The Indian innings started with a faulty LBW decision which sent back Tendulkar. Though after that, Gambhir and Raina scored good looking half centuries and looked at ease against Murali and Mendis. Both though had hundreds for the taking and both missed them. After them, Dhoni played another innings of quality and got them home along with Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma.

Overall, I think it is the perfect start to the tour. We did not give away wickets to Mendis, and we did not play in a foolish manner at any time, although the battle has only been one-fifth won. Mendis came back from a similar situation against Pakistan, and I am pretty sure he will try to do the same again.

All I can say is that the second match is a crucial one in deciding if we are actually able to manage the Sri Lankan attack or not.