November 19, 2009 5:37 PM

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Gambhir keeps Sri Lanka at bay; India 190/2 on day 4

India will resume its second with a score of 190 for two on board still needing 144 runs to offset the threat of an innings defeat with eight wickets still in hand. India has full line up of midddle order batsmen including the legendary Sachin Tendulkar besides M.S. Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh to upset the Sri Lankan dream of registering of first of its victory against India at Motera Grounds at Ahmedabad.The game is still wide open. Team India will start Day five with the clear intentions of drawing the match. It has only 90 overs play on Day 5. First it will offset the lead and start scoring and not giving chance to the visitors to out the whole team for paltry score.Sri Lanka gave themselves a minimum of 134 overs and lead of 334 runs to try and register their first Test win in India, but the Ahmedabad pitch got deader and deader with every passing minute. Gautam Gambhir got into long-innings mode, reminiscent of his match-saving effort in Napier earlier this year, but Chanaka Welegedara brought Sri Lanka right back with Rahul Dravid's.Sri Lanka seemed unsettled by a charmed innings from Virender Sehwag who survived his own ambitious mindset to score an aggressive half-century. The Sri Lankan fast bowlers failed to replicate the swing they got in the first innings, and apart from a few moments of indiscretion from Sehwag, it seemed they would spend the day without a wicket.Sehwag escaped three chances before his eventual dismissal in the final session. In the first over he edged a no-ball, in the second another edge flew between wicketkeeper and first slip. In between, for a brief while approaching tea, Sehwag did tighten his game: he left balls outside off, defended with soft hands, looked to run singles and rotate strike. In other words, he started to play more like Gambhir, who resisted from playing too far outside off stump, kept the big shots out, and drove only when close to the pitch of the ball.Nightwatchman Amit Mishra and Gambhir saw out the remaining 15 overs, without incident. The first half of the day, too, was without incident. India started by waiting, nay hoping, for a declaration from Sri Lanka, but the Jayawardenes accumulated ruthlessly, scoring at close to four an over, almost making sure Sri Lanka would not have to bat again. Along the way Prasanna went past 150 – his second Test century – Sri Lanka registered the highest total in India, Mahela reached 250 in the innings and 9000 Test runs, and their 351-run partnership was a new world record for sixth wicket.

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