Sachin Tendulkar's Sublime Knock | Muttiah Muralitharan Psychological Dominance | IND vs SL Sharjah

Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @cricketmax87   The match against Sri Lanka at Sharjah, played just before the final, was crucial for India on two fronts — to establish psychological dominance and to finally find answers to Muttiah Muralitharan. Unfortunately for the Indians, they failed on both counts as Sri Lanka produced a near-perfect performance to demolish them with authority. The turning point of the match was the record-breaking third-wicket partnership between Marvin Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene. After early breakthroughs by Ajit Agarkar, who removed Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana following an aggressive opening spell by Zaheer Khan, India seemed momentarily on top. But once Atapattu and Jayawardene came together, the balance of the game shifted decisively. Batting with remarkable mental strength and clarity, the pair began cautiously, almost in Test-match fashion, before steadily tightening their grip on the contest. As the pitch slowed, their orthodox strokeplay, precise placement, and intelligent rotation of strike exposed the limitations of the Indian bowling attack. Atapattu played the role of the sheet anchor, while Jayawardene displayed extraordinary poise, playing one of the finest innings ever seen at Sharjah. His late cuts off Robin Singh, reminiscent of Gundappa Viswanath, stood out as moments of pure class. India tried everything in the middle overs, but the Sri Lankan pair handled Joshi, Sriram, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Singh, and even Ganguly with ease. Russell Arnold’s late acceleration added salt to Indian wounds, while Atapattu reached a well-deserved century, underlining Sri Lanka’s dominance. India’s chase never truly recovered from early setbacks. Sourav Ganguly and Sriram fell cheaply, while Sachin Tendulkar, despite looking in sublime touch, perished attempting to seize control against Muralitharan. From there on, Muralitharan produced a mesmerising spell, virtually single-handedly dismantling the Indian batting lineup. His bowling was so incisive that it appeared th