ICC World T20 2012: Sri Lanka stumble in pursuit of 147 against India in warm-up tie

Sri Lanka reached 68 for three from 10 overs in pursuit of 147 against India in their ICC World Twenty20 warm-up game at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Saturday.


Sri Lanka made a poor start to their chase losing opener Dilshan Munaweera in the first over for three, as India seamer Irfan Pathan managed to sneak the ball in between the bat and pads.

Pathan rocked Sri Lanka once again when he dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan for one, to leave them struggling at 15 for two.

Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara then tried stabillising Sri Lanka's innings, but their stand was broken by L Balaji, who struck to dismiss Mathews for 16.

Earlier, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma's gritty knocks pushed India to 146 for five, after they suffered a top-order collapse against Sri Lanka in their warm-up game of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in Colombo on Saturday.

Dhoni and Sharma added 78 runs for the fifth wicket to help India reach a compatible total at the P Sara Oval, after the early losses.

The Indian captain struck four boundaries and three sixes to reach 55 not out off 42 balls, whereas Rohit clobbered four boundaries and a six to score 37 off 26 balls.

After electing to bat first, India made a poor start and were left reeling at 51 for four in the ninth over, before Dhoni and Rohit joined forces to bail their side out of trouble.

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was retired hurt after being hit in the hand. He scored five off four deliveries, hitting one boundary.

Brief Scores: India 146 for 5 from 20 overs (MS Dhoni 55*, Rohit Sharma 37; Nuwan Kulasekara 2 for 39) vs Sri Lanka 68 for 3 from 10 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 31*, Angelo Mathews 16; Irfan Pathan 2 for 20)