India clinch first series victory in Sri Lanka

Colombo: After being tormented in the recent Tests, India carved out a special niche in their ODI history by clinching the five-match series 3-1 at Premadasa Stadium here on Wednesday night.

After Tuesday's rained off game spilled over into a replay, India's momentum from their victory on Sunday helped engineer success by 46 runs, giving the tourists their first bilateral series win over Sri Lanka in the emerald isle.

As India wrapped up the fourth crucial match, it has been the taming of the so-called double-edged M Factor of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in the last two games that has done much to ensure manufacturing the sort of performance that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side maintained since winning the second game in Dambulla a week ago.

To win a series in Sri Lanka for the first time would be a remarkable achievement and shows that India, despite the niggling from critics at home, are developing a strong side. They have overcome the team they lost badly to in the Asia Cup in Lahore and this alone would create the right environment among the selectors.

Trailing the series 0-1 after the first ODI in Dambulla, India now lead the series within a series at Premadasa Stadium 2-0 and that is where the history of this series lies with a young brigade believing they can overcome a home team that has an almost near impregnable home record.

For a start, inspirational leadership from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and important partnerships in which he was involved did much to lay the foundations for the team's success. Apart from winning the toss on all four occasions, he has batted with confidence that has been expressed in the way the team has managed to turn games around.

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