Dull draw as India close shop

LEICESTER, August 5: All hopes of a Super Sunday here at the Leicester cricket ground evaporated as Sri Lanka A continued batting into the lunch break against the visiting Indian side.
The declaration eventually came, a few minutes after that, but the target had already been taken away beyond the reach of the Indians.
Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik jumped out with great intent, pretending to be interested in the 294-run pursuit.However, the moment the spunky wicketkeeper's leg-stump was uprooted, there was no room for even artificial excitement.
The remaining 57 overs had anyway made the mission difficult, if not impossible. India eventually managed 187 for six, with Gautam Gambhir remaining unbeaten on 53. Ramesh Pawar made 14 as the pitch died down and the match ambled to a dull, uneventful draw. The teams decided to end play with two overs yet to be completed.
For a brief while, though, Yuvraj Singh and Jaffer entertained the jolly Indians with their brand of strokes. If one hit powerful flicks, the other replied with delicate drives; if one stood up and cut, the other jumped forward and lofted. It was a fine display of attractive stroke play; but there was no urgency or desire to chase down the target.
Yuvraj's 33 was studded with seven boundaries and came off just 40 deliveries. His dismissal cut short the attractive part too. MS Dhoni, fresh from a stint with Paul Nixon, upped the tempo by coming down at number four. He, however, managed only 1 this time. That further killed the match.
After that, it almost looked like the Indian batsmen were forced to come down to bat. Gautam Gambhir came down quickly enough and sealed one end. But VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid took their own sweet time. Jaffer, who had meanwhile decided to hang his strokes, collapsed after making 55.
Laxman too didn't last long. At 126 for five, it looked like India were going to make a hash of this chase too. But Dravid took over the job of guiding the team to safety again. He didn't last long though, falling leg-before for 15.
Earlier, Michael Vandort came back to complete a smashing century. The tall left-hander looked totally at ease as he stood up to the feeble pace of Ranadeb Bose and erratic line of Ishant Sharma. Ramesh Pawar too couldn't derive much purchase from the wicket while Anil Kumble bowled only nine overs.
Yuvraj, Laxman and Karthik all bowled a few overs each too. Powar picked up two wickets while all the others, apart from Kumble and Yuvraj, got one each. India's overall bowling, however, was below par on a wicket that must have made them nostalgic.