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India drove home their advantage with the bat against Sri Lanka on day 3 of the final test in Mumbai, posting in excess of 700 runs in their first and probably only stint with the bat, and earning a potentially match winning lead of 333 runs in the process. Sri Lanka needed to play out just 3 overs at the end of the day's play, as MS Dhoni delayed the declaration till after he crossed three figures, and the Lankan openers safely negotiated the Indian spinners in that short period of time to head into the fourth day with all wickets intact.

All eyes were on Virender Sehwag as history beckoned on the morning of day 3 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The opener was unbeaten on 284, and just 16 runs shy of becoming the first batsman in the history of the game to score three triple hundred's in his test career. Sadly, the large crowds that had turned up early in the morning were to be disappointed as Sehwag fell adding just 9 to his overnight score, caught at the second attempt by a juggling Muralitharan. after being beaten in the air. It was a rather tame end to what had truly been a remarkable innings, 293 runs in a little over 6 hours of play from just 254 deliveries including 40 boundaries and 7 massive 6s.

Sri Lanka were to get a second breakthrough before lunch, Welegedara snafling Rahul Dravid for 74, caught behind off a rather wide delivery which the batsman chased. In all fairness, Dravid should have been out a couple of overs ago edging one through from Rangana Herath, but umpire Nigel Llong ruling incorrectly in favour of the home side. India went into lunch 143 runs ahead with Sachin Tendulkar on the verge of yet another half century, batting on 48, with VVS Laxman keeping him pleasant company on 22. It was one of those rare sessions in the series where a hundred runs had not been scored, with the new batsmen taking their time to find their feet.

The second session, was the first one that the Sri Lankans won since the opening morning of the test match, with 4 wickets falling for 93 runs. Sachin Tendulkar (53) and VVS Laxman (62) both scored half centuries, the former falling to a delivery from Nuwan Kulasekara that caught the inside edge and crashed into his stumps, while the latter playing a rather uncharacteristically attacking innings failed to clear mid-on while using his feet to Muralitharan.

Yuvraj Singh failed to make the most of a life from a missed stumping as he fell for 23, Herath finally getting his man.The manner of Laxman and Yuvraj's dismissals seemed to indicate that India were looking for some quick runs as a declaration beckoned, but MS Dhoni took his time batting comfortably with the tail as the runs column kept showing healthy movement.

Harbhajan fell for just 1, but Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth and Pragyan Ojha all shared in useful stands with the skipper as he edged closer to a century. Dhoni was masterful in farming the strike and compiled his runs in his now characteristic style of 'block-block-bang-block-steal a run'. Three fours and 6 massive sixes took the Indian skipper to exactly 100, the last 5 of these coming when he was battling with no.11, Ojha, as the two shared in an unbeaten stand of 56 of which Dhoni scored 49!

While the fans were undoubtedly thrilled with the entertainment, India should probably have had a go at the Lankan top order for atleast 10 overs today and attempted to make some inroads. Dhoni's decision to bat on, especially for a personal landmark, cast a shroud over what has been a very dominant Indian performance.

A special mention for Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath. The pair bowled over a hundred overs between them, and were rewarded with 7 wickets, the champion off-spinner claiming four of these.

The Sri Lankan openers Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan batted out the three overs left in the day's play with complete ease, especially with Dhoni opting to use the two spinners with the new ball. Tomorrow, however, is likely to be a completely different kettle of fish with the Indian bowling quartet undoubtedly pushing for a quick win. Sri Lanka meanwhile will hope that their openers can continue to provide them with a good start, like they have been doing in most of the series so far, and will be anxious that Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera find some form as they would be crucial to any attempt to avoid a 2-0 series defeat.

Mini Scorecard:

Sri Lanka 1st innings 393 all out (89 overs, 4.15rpo)
Dilshan 109 (160)                Harbhajan Singh 4-112
Mathews 99 (131)                Ojha 3-101

India 1st innings 726/9 declared (163.3 overs, 4.44rpo)
Sehwag 293 (254)             Herath 3-240
Dhoni 100* (154)                    Murali 4-195

File Photograph Copyright: Hashir Milhan