Daredevils dominate India-Lanka ODI series

NEW Delhi, Dec 28: It was an extremely successful ODI series for Delhi Daredevils players, as India beat Sri Lanka 3-1 in the five-match series. The fifth match at Delhi was abandoned.
In three of the four completed matches, Daredevils players walked away with the Man of the Match awards.
Dilshan Tillakaratne had two centuries – 160 in the first match and 123 in the second, while Virender Sehwag had one century and Gautam Gambhir one. Four of the total seven centuries came from Daredevils’ blades.
Dilshan was the highest scorer with 353 runs in five innings, including two centuries, while Sehwag scored 204 and Gambhir 195.
In a series dominated by batsmen, Ashish Nehra had six wickets, the second best haul after Zaheer Khan’s seven. Also with six wickets was Harbhajan Singh.

Virender Sehwag set the tone for the series with his 146 in the first match as India scored 414 for seven in 50 overs. Sehwag got his 146 in 102 balls with 17 fours and six sixes.
Dilshan Tillakaratne made a bold bid with his 160 in 124 balls with 24 fours and three sixes, as Sri Lanka came close to beating India. They finished at 411 for eight as India won by three runs.
Sehwag was adjudged Man of the Match.
But in the second ODI, Dilshan grabbed the Man of the Match award with his brilliant 123 at Nagpur. India made 301 for seven in 50 overs as both Sehwag and Gambhir had rare failures. Dilshan led the Lankan reply getting his 123 in 113 balls with 12 fours and two sixes and was adjudged Man of the Match.
In the third ODI, each of the five Daredevils – four in Indian side and one in Sri Lankan – played a fine role for their sides. Dilshan scored 41 in 18 balls with 10 fours, before being dismissed by the daredevils combine – caught Dinesh Karthik bowled Ashish Nehra. Nehra took two for 32, his best in the series.
When India chased the target of 240, Virender Sehwag made 44 in 28 balls, Gautam Gambhir made 32 in 52 balls and Karthik made 32 in 31 balls as India won the match by seven wickets with Sachin Tendulkar scoring 96 not out.
In the fourth match, it was Gambhir’s turn to take the spotlight. He scored a brilliant 150 not out in 137 balls with 14 fours as India won by seven wickets while chasing 316 for victory. Gambhir was adjudged Man of the Match.
In the fifth match, Dilshan had scored 20, before the match was abandoned after 22.3 overs due to a poor pitch.