GALLE, Sri Lanka: Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma bowled India to a series-levelling 170-run victory on the fourth day of the second Test against Sri Lanka yesteray.
Off spinner Harbhajan claimed four for 51 from 14 overs and paceman Sharma took three for 20 from 15 overs, bowling with hostility on an easy-paced pitch.
Harbhajan’s haul gave him match figures of 10 for 153, the sixth “ten-for” of his career.
Sri Lanka, set 307 to win after bowling out India for 269 in the morning, were dismissed for 136 in 47.3 overs.
India’s brave fight-back from a humiliating innings and 239 run defeat in Colombo leaves the series tied 1-1 with the final test starting on Friday in Colombo.
Local hopes of a successful run chase were delivered early blows after India’s Sharma and Zaheer Khan reduced Sri Lanka to 10 for three before lunch.
The only major resistance came from middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera who scored 67 not out.
He and Tillakaratne Dilshan (38) added 76 for the fifth wicket, a partnership that gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope before a final collapse when five wickets went for six runs.
Earlier, Ajantha Mendis claimed four for 92 from 27.2 overs as India, who resumed the day on 200 for four, were bowled out for 269 in their second innings. Mendis’s second innings performance gave him match figures of 10 for 209, his first 10-wicket match haul in only his second test. Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan chipped in with three for 107 as India lost their last eight wickets for 69 runs.
Vaughan stands down as England Test captain
In London, Michael Vaughan has decided to step down as England test captain in the wake of the series defeat by South Africa, he told a news conference yesterday.
“Today I have decided to stand down as England captain. To be honest it is the hardest decision I have ever had to make but also the easiest,” said Vaughan. His decision after five years as captain followed England’s five-wicket loss to South Africa on Saturday.
That result left the hosts trailing 2-0 in the series, with one Test remaining, and inflicted the first back-to-back defeats of Vaughan’s captaincy. England’s one-day captain Paul Collingwood, 32, is also stepping down, the England and Wales Cricket Board told the news conference at the team’s training base in Loughborough. Vaughan had been replaced as one-day captain by Collingwood in 2007. England’s new captain will be named at a news conference today along with the squad for the final South Africa Test.
