Defiant India pull off a draw

Ahmedabad: Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar scored gritty centuries as India came up with a spirited batting display to salvage a draw in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka here on Friday.

Opener Gautam Gambhir conjured up yet another marathon innings of 114 runs, result of his six-and-half hour vigil, before Sachin Tendulkar (100 not out) took the centrestage to chase down yet another milestone of 30,000 international runs en route to his 43rd Test ton.

With VVS Laxman (51 not out) also chipping in with his 40th Test half-century, India batted their way out of trouble to maintain their impressive home record against the Lankans.