Aug. 22: Umpiring standards may have been deplorable but they were only a part of the problem. Spineless batting marked India’s embarrassing eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the tri-series here on Sunday. The win helped the home team book their place in the final.

As many as four decisions may have gone against the visiting batsmen but that should take nothing away from the spirited effort of Thissara Perera who registered his maiden five-wicket haul (7.4-1-28-5).

A lowly target of 104 set by India was knocked off in 15.1 overs. The small target allowed the hosts to experiment as Mahela Jayawardene opened with Tillakaratne Dilshan. Both batsmen were severe against Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar who erred freely in their length.

Fifty was up in six overs and 63 knocked off even before the dinner break after which Ishant Sharma dismissed the openers off successive deliveries. The defeat was India’s heaviest in terms of overs remaining. Australia’s win in 1981 hac come with 174 deliveries left while Lanka still had another 209 balls in hand when the winning run was hit.

Earlier, Dhoni’s luck with the toss was the lone bright spot in an otherwise forgettable day. Yuvraj Singh who regained his rightful place was the only batsman to offer any resistance scoring 38 (64b, 5x4, 1x6). The 113 minutes the left-hander spent in the middle should augur well for him for the last league game against New Zealand on Wednesday.

Perera caused the greatest mayhem with some excellent seam bowling after Virender Sehwag had looked in fine nick threading the needle twice on the off-side field but Dinesh Karthik continued to struggle. The openers did look like coming into their own when both were given the marching orders by Kumar Dharmasena, the fortunate bowler being Nuwan Kulasekara.

To sum up Rohit Sharma’s agony at the crease, an intended flick off Lasith Malinga found the cover fence. Malinga was quick and though he did not take a wicket in his first spell, he sowed the seeds of doubt in the minds of batsmen.

Yuvraj was all authority with an elegant straight drive. The balance and punch were immaculate but partnerships were hard to come by. From 50/2 in 12.1 overs, India were reduced to 80/8 in 26.2. There were no demons in the track and it was another classic case of the Indian batsman being found wanting under bowler-friendly conditions.

Dhoni saw a slip being added every time he edged and he was finally snapped up by his counterpart when Perera shaped the ball away.
Another sub-100 total was on the cards at 83/8 when Yuvraj slammed a stunning six off Perera.

Dharmasena was not finished yet as he handed out another howler against Yuvraj when Malinga struck him well outside the line of off-stump. The adjudication left too much to be desired.

SCOREBOARD
India
Karthik c Sanga b K’sekara 9
Sehwag lbw b Kulasekara 12
Rohit lbw b Mathews 11
Yuvraj lbw b Malinga 38
Raina c Sangakkara b Perera 8
Dhoni c Sanga b Perera 10
Jadeja c Silva b Perera 0
Praveen c Tharanga b Perera 0
Nehra c Sanga b Malinga 2
Ishant b Perera 3
Ojha not out 2
Extras (lb3, w5) 8
Total (in 33.4 overs) 103
FoW: 1-20, 2-26, 3-50, 4-61, 5-71, 6-77, 7-77, 8-80, 9-99.
Bowling: Malinga 9-1-21-2 (w2), Kulasekara 9-2-31-2 (w1), Mathews 8-3-20-1 (w1), Perera 7.4-1-28-5 (w1)

Sri Lanka
J’dene c Jadeja b Ishant 33
Dilshan c Nehra b Ishant 35
Tharanga not out 12
Sangakkara not out 13
Extras (lb6, nb1, w4) 11
Total (in 15.1 overs) 104/2
FoW: 1-79, 2-79
Bowling: Praveen 7-1-44-0 (w1), Nehra 5-0-39-0 (nb1, w3), Ishant 3.1-0-15-2