Winning the toss and putting India in to bat seemed like a logical decision and was further vindicated when Sadagoppan Ramesh was bowled by Chaminda Vaas in the first over. That, however, was all the joy the Sri Lankans would have for the next 328 runs!
Sourav Ganguly was already at the crease and Rahul Dravid walked in to join him. Together, they set about decimating the Sri Lankan attack in systematic fashion. Rahul Dravid, normally the more cautious and contained of two brought up his fifty in just 43 balls and it included 10 boundaries. Ganguly was not too far behind but took 68 balls for his fifty. For the first time, Dravid was attacking more than any of his more celebrated partners.
As the innings went on, though, Ganguly picked up his pace and brought up his second fifty in just 51 balls. Rahul Dravid too went on to a century but had slowed down considerably, taking 59 balls for his second set of 50 runs. The Sri Lankan bowlers had no clue how to stem this attack. Dravid eventually fell for a fiery 145 off just 129 balls that included 17 boundaries and one six.
But Ganguly was showing no signs of slowing down. He raced to 150 off just 143 balls, the distance between 100 and 150 being covered in just 24 balls! By the time the two were separated, India had piled on a massive 324 in just 45 overs. But Ganguly kept on going.
When he finally fell on the penultimate ball of the innings, he had scored a huge 183 off just 158 balls. Between the two, they faced 287 of the 300 legal deliveries Sri Lanka bowled and accounted for 328 runs! One of the biggest partnerships of all-time for any wicket in ODIs, this was a memorable day as India went on to beat Sri Lanka by a mammoth 157 runs.
Sourav Ganguly was named Man of the Match, but it should have rightly been shared between the two. After all, it was Dravid who gave the innings the initial momentum.
