Murali Vijay pulverise Sri Lanka

Murali Vijay had big shoes to fill in replacing the in-form Gautam Gambhir, but he started off in confident fashion when he flicked a full delivery from Welegedara through the leg side for a boundary in the first over of the innings.Vijay got his first boundary with a sweetly timed boundary through the covers off Welegedara in the 25th over of the innings.

There was no stopping Sehwag as he went on a rampage against Muralitharan. He stepped down the wicket and hit him over long-off for the third six of his innings to continue India's domination with the bat. India were in complete control after lunch as the first eight overs after the break fetched 41 runs.

Vijay showed he also existed at the other end when he stepped down the wicket and slammed Muralitharan over midwicket for a six to complete his maiden half-century. The 25-year-old opener completed his fifty of 78 deliveries, having hit six boundaries and a six in the 28th over.

Vijay looked set for his maiden century till he was dismissed leg before wicket by Herath. The right-hander tried to sweep Herath but missed the ball and was struck on the left pad right in front of the stumps. The Tamil Nadu hit 87 from 121 deliveries, inclusive of ten boundaries and a six, adding 221 runs for the opening wicket with the Sehwag.