What The Papers Say About India's Win
Dhoni - man with the Midas touch.
The papers are once again singing skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's praises after he led his team to a rare series victory on Sri Lankan soil...
'Wednesday's victory was a grand team effort with solid contributions from seven of the playing 11. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli played their part in putting up an impressive 258 on the board, while Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh shone under the lights with ball in hand.
'Only twice did they look like not being in the driver's seat. First when they frittered away a solid middle-over partnership by losing seven wickets for 34 to settle for 258, and then again when Sanath Jayasuriya went about scoring 60 off 52 balls to give the hosts a snappy start.
'But Munaf Patel's disciplined bowling gave him two early wickets to even Jayasuriya's presence out. And when Harbhajan, in the 18th over, got the ball to spin viciously across Jayasuriya's angled bat, and Suresh Raina completed a good diving catch at slip, it was the beginning of the end.' - G.S. Vivek, Indian Express
'For the fourth successive time, Mahendra Singh Dhoni called correctly with the coin and that in many ways, set up India's series triumph, a rare one on Lankan soil. For sure, too much cannot be made of the toss, but for the second time running at the R. Premadasa Stadium, India reaped the benefits of bowling second. For a change, it was the spinners who came to the party as the Indians won the fourth game of the series by 46 runs for their first bi-lateral series in the Emerald Isles.' - Ravi Chakravarthy, The Asian Age
'Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Midas touch as ODI captain continued as India won their first-ever bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka. Dhoni's luck at the toss continued as he won his fourth on the trot, and it was an important one too.
'But beyond that it was not a matter of luck, but hard work and smart cricket that won India the game by 46 runs to give them an unbeatable 3-1 lead with one match to play.
'India played to the perfect script for ODIs in Sri Lanka, following the basic principle of putting runs on the board and then bringing the spinners into the game as the pitch began to take turn.' - Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times
'Sri Lanka failed to prevent India from playing common sense cricket and succumbed to a 46-run defeat in the fourth one-day International at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo yesterday thus rendering Friday's fifth and final game of no importance after losing the series 3-1.
'The Indians showed they could only get better against the series favourites and found a way to beat Sri Lanka by playing just normal cricket pushing the singles and rotating the batting to confuse the bowlers and post a defendable 258.' - Callistus Davy, Daily Mirror
'A remarkable fightback in Dambulla, set up by the brilliance of Zaheer Khan, culminated in one of India's more commendable series win in the limited-overs game overseas.
'Another thoroughly professional performance at the Premadasa stadium on Wednesday yielded a 46-run win and an unassailable 3-1 lead, reiterating Young India's growth as an all-season, all-condition, if not yet all-conquering, one-day outfit and giving them victory in a bilateral series on Sri Lankan soil for the very first time.
'Not for the first time, Mahendra Singh Dhoni took it upon himself to shape his team's fortunes.' - R Kaushik, Deccan Herald
'Thilan Thushara Mirando emerged as a genuine all-rounder but his heroics with bat and ball could not prevent India from pulling off a 46-run victory in the fourth one day international worked off under lights at the R. Premadasa Stadium yesterday.
'With this success India took an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five match series and Friday's fifth and final match at the same venue under lights will be of academic interest. This was also Sri Lanka's second successive home series defeat following their set back against England last year.' Chris Dhambarage, Daily News