Sehwag, Vijay give India flying start

Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay gave India a flying start in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 393 and were 92 for no loss off 18 overs at lunch on Day Two of the third and final Test at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.

After quickly polishing off the last two wickets of the visitors for the addition of just 27 runs in 22 balls and in less than half an hour on Thursday morning, Sehwag and Vijay started in rollicking fashion.

At the break after a very productive first session for the home team, Sehwag was unbeaten on 53 in 60 balls that included five fours and two sixes off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. Vijay was batting on 38 in 49 balls with five fours.

Resuming at their overnight 366 for eight, Sri Lanka added 13 runs before losing Angelo Mathews who was run out on 99, his highest Test score, when going for a second run with Muttiah Muralitharan.

Mathews, who batted beautifully on Wednesday evening and rallied the visitors from a difficult 188 for four with Tillakaratne Dilshan, was beaten narrowly by a superb throw from the deep square leg by Sachin Tendulkar to India wicketkeeper and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Third umpire Shavir Tarapore, after viewing the replays repeatedly, declared Mathews out to leave Lanka at 379 for nine.

It was heartbreak for the 22-year-old Mathews to have joined the short list of cricketers from his country caught one short of 100, which would have been his maiden one. The others were Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold, a TV commentator in this series.

Mathews' struck 15 fours, including two on Thursday morning, while facing 132 balls. Last man Chanaka Welegedara struck two fours before he was trapped leg before by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who came in to bowl replacing Harbhajan Singh.

Ojha finished with 3 for 101, playing a good supporting role to Harbhajan who claimed 4 for 112. Sehwag and Vijay, in the playing eleven because of the absence of in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir, negotiated the initial overs from the Sri Lanka medium pacers without raising too many alarms.

Vijay, playing his second Test after making his debut in November 2008 against Australia at Nagpur, flicked Welegedara sweetly off his pads for his first four while Sehwag, preferring to wait a bit before opening out, on-drove Nuwan Kulasekara for his first boundary.

Sehwag, who on Thursday became the third fastest Indian to score 6000 Test runs, welcomed the introduction of left-arm spinner Rangana Herath by slamming him over the straight field for a six in his first over. He then used his bat sledge-hammer-like to cut and on-drive Welegedara for fours in successive balls to raise the tempo.

The Indian fifty was raised in only the 10th over with Sehwag easily outscoring his younger partner who was more circumspect.

Vijay, taking a cue from the Delhi dasher, eased into a drive to the extra cover region past a host of fielders by stepping out to Herath.

A change of ends for Kulasekara did not bother Sehwag who whipped him from off stump to long on for his fifth four. The ball was turning sharply and Vijay was lucky to edge Herath just wide of lone slip fielder Mahela Jayawardene close to the interval.

Sehwag heaved Herath again over long on and then took a single to complete his 20th half century in his 72nd Test to force visiting team captain Kumar Sangakkara take the left arm slow bowler, who conceded 26 runs in four overs, off and give Muralitharan his first over just before lunch.