Nine and counting!

COLOMBO: Cricket is getting too monotonous at the R Premadasa Stadium here. For the third time in succession, India won the toss, put up a big score, batsmen made merry and result was the same.
The script is getting worse for the Sri Lankans with every match and it was no different on Thursday afternoon. India rested two of their premier players, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan, and yet never lifted the foot from the run accelerator as they sped to 332/5.
Gautam Gambhir, who opened the innings for the first time in the series, turbo-charged the innings by posting his best score in ODIs.Gambhir held centrestage for 47 overs with his audacious pulls and fierce cuts on way to 150 (147b, 14 x 4, 1x6). It is also the best individual ODI score in Sri Lanka.
Gambhir was equally impressive in running between the wickets, sprinting to 88 runs. It was the most striking feature of his 188-run alliance with captain MS Dhoni, who missed a deserving century by six runs.
The Lankan reply was the best in the series, yet it fell short by 67 runs. Openers Sanath Jayasuriya (27 off 16 balls) and T Dilshan (38) looked like taking the game away with a blazing start but it only lasted 43 deliveries ��� Lanka were 55-0 then. Thereafter, the Indians slowly seized control and tightened the noose as the Lankan innings folded in the 48th over for 265.
The likes of Kumar Sangakkara (56) and Nuwan Kulasekara (39) only delayed the inevitable. Of the seven bowlers pressed into service, Irfan Pathan (3-58), who replaced Zaheer in this match, was the most expensive and the most productive too. With this win, Dhoni & Co set a new Indian mark for the most number of victories on the trot.
They have now recorded nine victories, including the 5-0 verdict against England last year.
Earlier, Dhoni's batting display was all about perseverance. Having promoted himself at No. 3, Dhoni curtailed the big shots but ensured that the scoreboard kept ticking by pushing for the singles, two and threes.
As many as 66 runs in his knock of 94 came in such fashion. The only aberration was when he went berserk in trying to hit Jayasuriya.