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NAGPUR, India, Oct 25 (AFP): Sachin Tendulkar smashed 93 off 96 balls on his return from an elbow injury as India whipped Sri Lanka by 152 runs Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series.
Irfan Pathan hit a career-best 83 and new captain Rahul Dravid stroked an unbeaten 85 off 63 balls to lift India to 350-6 from 50 overs in perfect batting conditions at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground.
Sri Lanka managed only 198 in reply as off-spinner Harbhajan Singh grabbed three wickets in his first three overs and super-sub Murali Kartik polished off the tail with his left-arm spin.
Kumar Sangakkara's 43 was the top score for Sri Lanka, who were struggling at 126-8 before Chaminda Vaas (37 not out) and super-sub Dilhara Lokuhettige (29) delayed the inevitable.
Tendulkar, the world's most successful limited-overs batsman, showed no signs of the tennis elbow injury that kept him away from the game for six months as he plundered nine boundaries and two sixes.
The 32-year-old, playing his first international match since the April 17 one-dayer against Pakistan in New Delhi, did not look back after taking two consecutive boundaries in seamer Farveez Maharoof's opening over.
Tendulkar, whose much-awaited return was watched by a sell-out crowd of 40,000 home fans at the stadium and millions on television, took his world record tally to 13,735 runs from 349 matches.
Left-hander Pathan, promoted to number three, revelled in his new role as a pinch-hitter by blasting eight fours and four sixes during a second-wicket stand of 164 with Tendulkar.
The duo took the Sri Lankan attack apart in hot and humid conditions before both batsmen fell in successive overs trying to force the pace.
Pathan holed out to point off Tillakaratne Dilshan, while Tendulkar narrowly failed to increase his record haul of 38 one-day centuries when he edged Maharoof to wicket-keeper Sangakkara.
Dravid, who won the toss and elected to take first strike, hit eight fours and a six as India smashed 100 runs in the final 10 overs.
"It was a fantastic team effort," said Dravid, who was later named man of the match.
"Sachin and Pathan set the game for us nicely and the spinners bowled beautifully to win the match for us.
"But this is not the end. Sri Lanka are not the number two side in the world for nothing. There is a lot of tough cricket ahead."
Both Dravid and his Sri Lankan counterpart Marvan Atapattu paid glowing tributes to Tendulkar.
"It is great to have Sachin back," said Dravid. "His presence makes such a difference in the dressing room.
"The idea to send Pathan at number three was Sachin's and (coach) Greg Chappell agreed with the suggestion. I am glad I have Sachin in my side."
Atapattu said Tendulkar and Pathan took the game away from his team.
"You can't set a field for Sachin when he is in such a mood," the Sri Lankan captain said.
"The wicket was good for batting in the morning but deteriorated in the afternoon. We lost too many wickets early on."
The second match in the series will be played under lights in the northern town of Mohali Friday.
SCOREBOARD
India
V Sehwag c Sangakkara b Vaas 20
Tendulkar c Sangakkara b Maharoof 93
I Pathan c Jayawardena b Dilshan 83
Y Singh lbw b Dilshan 14
R Dravid not out 85
Dhoni c Jayawardena b Fernando 38
A Agarkar run out 1
J Yadav not out 3
Extras: (lb5, w4, nb4) 13
Total (for six wickets) 350
Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-205, 3-207, 4-247, 5-316, 6-319
Bowling: Vaas 9-0-67-1, Maharoof 10-0-82-1, Fernando 10-0-66-1, Muralitharan 10-0-49-0, Dilshan 6-0-40-2, Chandana 5-0-41-0
Overs: 50
Sri Lanka
S Jayasuriya c Dravid b Harbhajan 27
M Atapattu b Pathan 1
K Sangakkara c and b Sehwag 43
U Chandana st Dhoni b Harbhajan 3
M Jayawardena b Kartik 17
R Arnold b Harbhajan 0
T Dilshan b Kartik 23
F Maharoof st Dhoni b Kartik 2
C Vaas not out 37
D Lokuhettige b Sreesanth 29
M Muralitharan c Kartik b Sreesanth 6
Extras: (lb2, w6, nb2) 10
Total 198
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-74, 3-76, 4-88, 5-88, 6-118, 7-121, 8-126, 9-189
Bowling: Pathan 5-0-34-1, Sreesanth 5.4-0-39-2, Agarkar 3-0-20-0, Harbhajan 10-0-35-3, Sehwag 3-1-20-1, Kartik 9-0-48-3
Overs: 35.4
Super subs: Murali Kartik (IND) replaced Venugopal Rao; Dilhara Lokuhettige (SRI) replaced Dilhara Fernando
Toss: India
Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZL) and Krishna Hariharan (IND)
TV umpire: Ivaturi Shivram (IND)
Second match in Mohali Friday.
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