On August 7, 2010, Team India chased down the target of 257 against Sri Lanka in the Test match, played in Colombo. VVS Laxman shone with his bat and emerged as the hero of the contest. Earlier on the first
day, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara elected to bat first after winning the toss against his counterpart MS Dhoni. Riding on Thilan Samaraweera’s unbeaten 137, Sangakkara’s 75, and Mahela Jayawardene’s 56, the hosts posted a massive score of 425 runs on the board. For India, Pragyan Ojha did a superb job as he grabbed a four-wicket haul in his 46 overs.
India gave a solid reply as Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, and Suresh Raina stepped up for the visitors. Sehwag went on to notch up his 21st red-ball century. He concluded his knock after scoring 109 off 105. Laxman and Raina also racked up 56 and 62 runs respectively. The contribution from tailenders Abhimanyu Mithun (46) and Amit Mishra (40) helped India put up 436 runs and take an 11-run lead after the first innings.
In the second innings, Sri Lanka could score only 267 runs. Samarweera did a fine job with his bat again as he amassed 83 runs. Ajantha Mendis also played the best Test knock (78) of his career. Their efforts helped the home side to deliver a target of 257 to MS Dhoni and his men. Ojha, Sehwag, and Mishra picked up three wickets apiece while Mithun also got one wicket.
VVS Laxman held his nerves and guided India to a five-wicket win
Following the target, India lost their top-order batters Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, and Murali Vijay at a score of 62. Ishant Sharma was sent as a night watchman but he also fell against Suraj Randiv after consuming 26 balls. Earlier, the three batters also failed to tackle the Randiv challenge.
In the crunch situation, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman held their nerves and built a 109-run stand for the fifth wicket. The Master Blaster became Randiv’s victim after accumulating 54 off 122. However, Laxman didn’t lose his confidence and stitched an 87-run stand with Raina to take India home by five wickets. Laxman struck his 16th red-ball ton and became the Player of the Match (POTM). He went back to the dugout at an unbeaten 103 while Raina also chipped in with his unbeaten 41.
