10 Jan, 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh

A clinical all-round performance helped India outclass  by eight wickets and secure their place in the final of the triangular one-day series in Dhaka. Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra claimed three wickets apiece as India bundled Sri Lanka out for 213, a total achieved only through gritty half-centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and Suraj Randiv.

Gautam Gambhir and batsman Virat Kohli then hit half-centuries and Dinesh Karthik hammered 48 at the start as India cantered to victory inside 33 overs. Sri Lanka had already secured their place in the final and India was bidding to join them with victory.

Sangakkara, who won his fourth toss in a row, chose to experiment with opting to bat first, but that decision backfired as India began strongly. Sudeep Tyagi, who came in for Ashish Nehra, gave India an early wicket with the new ball, luring Upul Tharanga into a drive and finding an outside edge which Karthik neatly grasped at slip. The Fellow opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, back after missing Sri Lanka’s last two matches due to a groin injury, looked in ominous touch before he too went quickly. India’s impressive display in the field continued when Kohli held a sharp catch at short cover to send back Mahela Jayawardene, while Thilan Samaraweera departed for a six-ball duck.

India had needed only 53 at that stage and Kohli finished off the chase in a flurry of boundaries as Sri Lanka’s bowlers struggled with the dew.