Dhaka: A second wicket partnership of 205 runs between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, with both the Delhi batsmen scoring a century, helped India post a daunting total of 304 runs in the allotted 50 overs for the loss of three wickets in their opening Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka at Dhaka on Tuesday.

Mahela Jayawardene’s decision to invite India to bat after calling it right with the coin nearly paid them good dividend as the RAS Lakmal walked away with the priced wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the sixth over with the Indian scoreboard reading just 19.

Thereafter, Virat Kohli joined his Delhi team-mate and thereon began the resurrection of the Indian innings. Without showing the urgency to hit big shots, the left-right combination of Gautam and Virat resorted to rotating the strike and slowly but steadily, the duo kept on adding to the Indian scoreboard. The quick singles with occasional boundaries not only helped the duo reach the three figure mark, but also helped India cross the 200 mark with a run rate nearing five.

But when it looked as if the set batsmen would unleash their willow after reaching the individual centuries, both Gambhir (100) and Kohli (108) threw away their wickets, leaving two new batsmen in MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina at the crease. But the fantastic finishers as they are, Dhoni (46) and Raina (30) added a quick-fire 78 runs in 43 balls without losing their wickets.