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| Tendulkar and Gambhir fought off the Sri Lanka attack to secure the draw [AFP] |
An unbeaten century by Indian master Sachin Tendulkar steered India to a draw against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Ahmedabad.
India wiped out a huge first-innings deficit of 334 runs on the fifth and final day to finish at 412-4 in their second innings.
Tendulkar celebrated 20 glorious years in Test cricket by scoring his 43rd Test century.
The batsman, who made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi in 1989, hit 11 boundaries in his match-saving knock of five hours during which he faced 211 balls.
V.V.S. Laxman was unbeaten on 51 when the game closed and shared 137 runs with Tendulkar for the best partnership of the innings.
High target
Sri Lanka scored the highest total in a Test innings in India when they declared their first innings at 760-7 after dismissing India for 426.
Tendulkar and Laxman ensured India avoided any hiccups in forcing a draw on a wicket which offered little for the bowlers during their three-hour fifth-wicket stand.
Gautam Gambhir (114) was the only wicket to fall in the last two sessions, but not before the elegant left-handed opener had compiled his seventh Test century.
In a rare lack of concentration, Gambhir charged left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's delivery and offered a tame catch to Dammika Prasad at mid-off.
Gambhir became the sixth batsman in the match to reach three figures on a batsman-friendly wicket in the opener of a three-Test series and faced 230 balls, hitting 13 boundaries.
Holding tight
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India first innings 426
(R Dravid 177, M Dhoni 110)
Sri Lanka first innings 760-7 dec
(T Dilshan 112, M Jayawardene 275, T Samaraweera 70, P Jayawardene 154 not out)
India second innings (190-2 overnight)
G Gambhir c Prasad b Herath 114
V Sehwag c Mathews b Herath 51
R Dravid lbw b Welegedara 38
A Mishra c Dilshan b Mathews 24
S Tendulkar not out 100
V Laxman not out 51
Extras 34
Total (four wickets; 129 overs) 412
Fall of wickets: 1-81 2-169 3-209 4-275
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Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara tried his luck with the second new ball midway through the second session but failed to find another breakthrough.
"Ultimate winner is probably the wicket,'' Sangakkara said after the match.
"It stayed nice and flat throughout five days and the Indian team showed a lot of fight to save the Test match.''
Earlier, India added 66 runs in the morning session after resuming on 190-2 overnight and lost the lone wicket of nightwatchman Amir Mishra (24).
However, tailender Mishra made Sri Lanka's bowlers labour for nearly an hour to get rid of him.
Tillakaratne Dilshan took a superb catch at leg gully as Mishra played a decent shot only to see it caught just inches off the ground.
Offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan has now bowled 38 second-inning overs without taking a wicket and conceded 124 runs, but the flat nature of the Ahmedabad wicket offered nothing to either the seam or spin bowlers.
Herath (2-97) was the pick of Sri Lanka's bowler while seamers Mathews (1-29) and Chanaka Welegedara (1-76) shared the remaining two wickets.
"We were expecting the wicket to have a bit more bounce for our spinners,'' Dhoni said.
The second Test begins at Kanpur on Tuesday.
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