India heading towards invincibility

As India walked away with their ninth successive win in ODIs, they took another step towards cricketing invincibility

India heading towards invincibility

As India walked away with their ninth successive win in one-day cricket, they took another step towards cricketing invincibility which West Indies (1970s and 1980s), Australia (1990s) and Sri Lanka (late 1990s) enjoyed.

Sri Lanka are no minnows and to beat them for the fourth time in a row on their home turf means the Indians are playing at a different level. Mahendra Singh Dhoni deserves another dollop of credit since he fielded his reserve players yesterday.

"We are enjoying our success. I have not batted at number three for a long time and was looking to do that today as the series had already been decided," said Dhoni after his team's 67-run win at the Premadasa Stadium last night.

Gautam Gambhir smashed a career-best 150 off 147 balls to help India score 332 for five. Sri Lanka in response could manage only 265 before being bowled out.

If anyone deserved a hundred, it was skipper Dhoni (94) but he succumbed to the old fox Sanath Jayasuriya's left-arm spin. It would have been his fifth one-day hundred but Dilhara Fernando moved fantastically to take a one-handed catch at point.

Muttiah Muralitharan will remember this loss for long. The 36-year-old offie surpassed former Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram's one-day record wicket tally of 502 scalps. It was a travesty that his record-breaking feat came on a day when his side played some flat cricket. Ironically, Muralitharan got his world record on a ground which he always thrived on.

Murali's feat

Muralitharan's record caused him to turn back the clock to the time when he was growing up. He spoke about how he idolised Viv Richards and Kapil Dev. Though he didn't make the Sri Lankan team during Richards' playing days, he was fortunate to play against Kapil in the early 1990s. "I am happy to have achieved the record. It is also a great achievement for a small cricket nation like Sri Lanka to hold two bowling records," Murali said.

Back to Sri Lanka's mess. That the top-score (by Kumar Sangakkara) was only 56 told the tale of India's sheer dominance over the Lankan batters. Indeed, Sri Lanka are battered, beaten and bruised.