Admittedly they were helped by MS Dhoni's winning the toss at one of the worst ODI venues, in terms of the toss influencing the result of the match. But what followed after the toss was an absolute masterclass, especially from Tendulkar who was close to being the best he has been. Dravid, in typical manner, first moved up the order to open the innings in the absence of both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and then provided Tendulkar with assured support from the other end.

Albeit on a flat track, Tendulkar and Dravid were prepared to work hard in sapping conditions, their shirts turning to dark blue with sweat even before the shine went off the white ball. Not one aerial shot was hit in the first 15.5 overs, it needed a free hit to draw one out of them.

With Tendulkar batting the way he was, who needed aerial shots? After Dravid got India off with a boundary of the second ball of the innings, it was all Tendulkar and his classy shots. Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara didn't serve up loose half-volleys or long hops, Tendulkar had to work for every forceful shot. The first ball he faced he punched sweetly off his toes, wide of mid-off for three. In the fourth over, he took a similar delivery and wristed it to wide of mid-on for three. We were on to something.

A string of lovely boundaries followed, the best being the punches through a tight cover ring, and the late flicks from off and middle stump to midwicket and cow corner. With Dravid being Dravid, there were hardly any chances for the bowlers; the one that came their way Tillakaratne Dilshan dropped at point. Dravid was 24 then, and India had reached 58 in the 12th over.

Lasith Malinga came on in the 14th over, and was subjected to similar treatment at once: an impeccable punch through the covers for four. With that free hit, a slice over cover, Tendulkar reached his 92nd ODI fifty, in 47 balls.

Dravid followed it up with an aerial shot of his own, reading an Ajantha Mendis googly early, and lofting him over long-on. It was not all fours and sixes, but smart placements on the non-boundary hits: only 38 of the 95-run stand came in fours and sixes. It took another old fox to break this partnership, when Sanatha Jayasuriya in his first over removed Dravid with one that stopped on the batsman. Dhoni underlined the flexibility of the batting line-up by coming in at No. 3 and settling into the innings without wasting much time.

Source Cricinfo