JAIPUR, India, 1 November 2005 — Mahendra Dhoni blazed 183 not out from 145 balls — the highest one-day score by a wicketkeeper — to power India to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka yesterday.

Dhoni erased Australian Adam Gilchrist’s 172 with 10 sixes and 16 fours in the third One-Day International to equal the second highest one-day total by an Indian batsman.

India, chasing Sri Lanka’s 298 for four, coasted to 303 for four with 3.5 overs to spare, taking a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series.

Earlier, Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara had stroked a career-best 138 not out for his fourth one-day hundred.

Dhoni, 24 and promoted to No. 3, was unstoppable after coming in to bat in the first over. He hit a flurry of boundaries to race to his second one-day hundred from just 85 balls.

Dhoni’s score was the second highest by an Indian, behind Sachin Tendulkar’s 186 not out against New Zealand in 1999. Saurav Ganguly also made 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. India had a shaky start after left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas removed Sachin Tendulkar for two runs in the opening over.

Dhoni dominated a 92-run second wicket partnership with Virender Sehwag (37) and added 86 more for the next wicket with captain Rahul Dravid (28).

Dhoni’s previous one-day hundred had been a 123-ball 148, also made at number three against Pakistan in April.

The 24-year-old batsman smashed three sixes at the outset, hitting the experienced Vaas for the first two over cover.

He then tore into first change seamer Farveez Maharoof, hitting him over long off for six before striking him past cover and long off for a series of fours.

Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan broke through to trap Sehwag leg before as he went for a sweep.

Dhoni hoisted leg spinner Upul Chandana over square-leg for two sixes and stroked him past midwicket for fours to reach his hundred.

He needed a runner due to cramp but whipped spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan over midwicket for six to signal victory.

Sangakkara struck 13 fours and two sixes in his 147-ball innings and shared in a 151-run third wicket partnership with Mahela Jayawardene, who made 71. He anchored the innings until the end, accelerating the run rate to help add 104 in the final 10 overs, with Farveez Maharoof lashing 33 not out from just 16 balls. Sangakkara hit 13 fours and two sixes from 147 balls.

Gibbs, Boje Slam Door on India Tour

In Johannesburg, batting supremo Herschelle Gibbs and fellow all-rounder Nicky Boje are out of South Africa’s tour to India, again over fears of arrest for match-fixing which has haunted them for the last five years.

“Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje will not tour India with the national team in November,” said South African Cricketers Association (SACA) chief executive Tony Irish yesterday.

“This follows attempts by Cricket South Africa, SACA and the players’ legal advisors to clarify the intentions of the Indian police in relation to these players should they visit India,” Irish said in a statement issued in Johannesburg.