Hundred No. 33 appearing today seemed as inevitable as the floodlights at dusk at the County Ground. That was evident by the time the 15 overs were up, after Sachin Tendulkar came to the crease in the 12th over. When the field restrictions were lifted, India were 100 for 2, a position that seemed unlikely with a sluggish start. But the 61 dot balls in the first 15 overs were neutralized by 16 Indian boundaries. Worse for Sri Lanka, Sachin Tendulkar was batting on an ominous 20 runs, off which 19 were off Nuwan Zoysa who was smashed by Tendulkar for four boundaries in 12 deliveries. Their worst nightmares soon came true on a belter. In just 102 balls Tendulkar hammered 113 runs to set India up to go beyond the 300-run barrier. Sri Lanka bowled 71 percent of the balls he faced on a good length, off which he gorged 66% of his runs. 44 balls outside the off stump didn't work either, with Tendulkar getting 59 runs on the off side, with 31 in the cover region.

There was not much Sri Lankan bowlers could do, inspite of ensuring that 34% of the balls Tendukar faced went run-less. He didn't nick a single ball. He was in control of his shots 84% of the time, and earned 63 runs playing comfortably off his front foot. He employed the sweep as well, playing 14 of the total 17 sweep shots Indian batsmen played in the innings, but got just 9 runs from it. Sri Lanka would have been relieved Tendulkar came in only at No.4.

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