Gautam Gambhir after completing his century on Friday. (PTI)

Ahmedabad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said on the eve of the Test that he hoped a Sachin Tendulkar hundred and a victory would be the best way to celebrate the icon’s completion of two decades in international cricket.

The script didn’t exactly unfold the way the skipper wanted it to, but a masterly unbeaten 100 from Sachin saved the opening Test of the Jaypee Cup for India. Sri Lanka may have dominated for close to four days, but on the final day it was the Indian batsmen calling the shots.

Gambhir’s solid 114, along with Sachin’s unbroken 137-run partnership for the fifth wicket with V.V.S. Laxman, put paid to Lankan hopes of a first victory on Indian soil.

From being 334 runs in arrears India finished on 412 for four when the captains called for early stumps knowing well that a result was not possible.

The Lankans upheld the spirit of the game and waited for Sachin to complete his 43rd Test hundred.

“It was Sachin’s decision to bat… He said he wanted to continue, to get to his hundred,” Kumar Sangakkara said later.

Dhoni, too, supported Sachin’s decision. “Any batsman has the right to achieve it if he is so close to a milestone,” the Team India captain said.

Sachin also completed 30,000 runs in international cricket in the process.

“Brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” Sunil Gavaskar told The Telegraph as Sachin reached his century.

Sachin’s effort came as some consolation for the spectators who were robbed of an entertaining Test by a poor wicket. How will the curator justify around 1600 runs and only 21 wickets over five days.

Not without reason did Greg Chappell voice his concern about the future of Tests. It’s also time the Indian board took a close look at the pitches keeping in mind spectator interest.

Sachin certainly provided some value for money on Friday. In no tearing hurry even as the crowd grew impatient with every ball, Sachin concentrated only on working the ball into the gaps, avoiding the big hits as he approached his century.

Finally, a gentle push on the offside off Chanaka Welegedara for a single got him to the landmark.

Sachin played out 211 deliveries in 295 minutes of batting. Gambhir took 230 balls in 337 minutes to reach 114. Laxman, too, was content to playing out the overs, taking 160 balls and 196 minutes for his unbeaten 51.

Caution was the need of the hour and the Indians didn’t disappoint. The hamstring injury kept Damika Prasad out and that affected the Lankan attack. Welegedara failed to generate reverse swing and didn’t get good support at the other end.

The pitch played true and the Indians ensured they didn’t repeat the mistakes of the first innings. The Lankans were further handicapped by the ineffectiveness of their spinners.

Muttiah Muralidharan, despite pitching in the right areas, didn’t generate much turn and Rangana Herath was far from impressive. The way Amit Mishra frustrated their bowling for 48 minutes in the morning tells its own story.

A great effort from Tillekaratne Dilshan, diving one handed low to his right, ended the spinner’s resistance. His dour approach, however, was vindication enough that there was no demon in the pitch, and that all it needed was application.

Gambhir, who loves these challenges, lived up to this one. He switched to a no-risk mode, showing good judgement in the corridor of uncertainty and playing mostly off the front foot. At one point he faced 30 consecutive balls from Angelo Mathews without scoring a run.

Until he decided to give Herath the charge and perished to a poor shot against the spinner, Gambhir was calm and composed. He waited for the loose balls, used his feet against the spinners and looked in control.

His innings brought about a sense of stability in the dressing room. More importantly, four of his seven centuries — including his last three — have come in the second innings.

Once Gambhir left, India’s safety was in Sachin’s hands. Lanka tried to make inroads with the second new ball and even got the injured Prasad to bowl. But nothing shook the resolve of Sachin and Laxman.

While Lanka will take a lot of positives going into the second Test, India made up for lost ground and will hope their batting clicks in the rest of the series.