Indians romp to easy win

The Indians warmed up for the Asia Cup with a comfortable nine-wicket win against a Sri Lankan Cricket Academy XI at the Nondescripts ground in Colombo. Chasing 188 for victory, the Indians cruised to their target in just 30.3 overs, with most of their batsmen having a decent outing.

The only disappointments for the Indians were Rahul Dravid, who was caught behind for a first-ball duck, and Zaheer Khan, who sprayed the ball all over the place, bowling 16 wides in his eight overs.

However, the rest all had useful outings. Harbhajan Singh was impressive in picking up 2 for 34, while Lakshmipathy Balaji and Sachin Tendulkar picked up a couple of wickets as well. For the academy side, which included three Test players - Michael Vandort, Dinuk Hettiarachchi and Hasantha Fernando - Sahan Wijeratne top-scored with 46, but a close second was extras, at 45.

The Indians began the run-chase in style, with Virender Sehwag (53) and Tendulkar (51) smashing half-centuries before retiring to allow the others a hit. Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh were still there when the winning runs were scored.

The Indians open their Asia Cup campaign with a match against the United Arab Emirates on Friday, before taking on Sri Lanka in their last group match on Sunday.