If cricket is about problem solving, Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have all the answers at the moment. Ahead of the final, Dhoni had said that winning the toss was 60% of the job done, and putting 270 on the board increased the chances of success to 80%. His batsmen went one better, posting 319 for five, a score that has never been successfully chased at the R Premadasa Stadium. Kumar Sangakkara's team was unable to rewrite history, succumbing to 273 and defeat by 46 runs.
For the ninth time under Dhoni, India had emerged victors in a limited-overs episode.
There was nothing certain about this outcome, especially in the light of India's thrashing at Lanka's hands on Saturday.
But resilience has not been in short supply in this group.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid set the tone with an unhurried 95-run stand. Dhoni then took the game into his hands, walking out at No. 3, as Tendulkar ground the bowling.
Even as Dhoni gave way to a tentative Yuvraj Singh, the runrate barely suffered. Yuvraj slowly rained some familiar blows and some unfamiliar ones to reach 56. Tendulkar, who had the 36-year-old Dravid running for him at one stage, provided the backbone with 138.
Keen to buck the trend of teams batting second, Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan charged off their blocks.
A barrage of strokes left the fast bowlers exhausted and Dhoni was forced to turn to Harbhajan Singh early.
The heat of the battle brought out the warrior in the offie who ended with a five-wicket haul.
A brisk, well-targeted delivery rearranged Dilshan's stumps, and Mahela Jayawardene was conned into presenting a simple return catch. Sanath Jayasuriya swung Yusuf Pathan across the line but only managed a top edge, but Sri Lanka continued to attack.
When Sangakkara tried to fend off a RP Singh full toss, he lost control of his bat and watched it crash into his stumps. He left cursing his bad luck, but he knew that it was not only the bat that had slipped out of his hands. Thilina Kandamby (66) and Chamara Kapugedera (35) fought but they were faced with a mountain that wouldn't be climbed. SCORECARD India innings R Dravid c Dilshan b Jayasuriya 39, S Tendulkar lbw b Mendis 138, MS Dhoni c Kandamby b Malinga 56, Yuvraj Singh not out 56, Y Pathan c Kapugedera b Thushara 0, S Raina c Kulasekara b Thushara 8, V Kohli not out 2. Extras: (b 1, w 18, nb 1) 20.
Total (for 5 wickets) 319 Fall of wickets: 1-95, 2-205, 3-276, 4-277, 5-302 Bowling : Kulasekara 8-0-380, Thushara 10-0-71-2, Malinga 10-0-81-1, Mendis 10-0-70-1, Jayasuriya 9-0-43-1, Mathews 3-0-15-0.
Sri Lanka innings Dilshan b Harbhajan 42, Jayasuriya c Nehra b Pathan 36, Jayawardene c & b Harbhajan 1, Sangakkara hit wicket b Harbhajan 33, Thushara b Ishant 15, Mathews c Raina b Yuvraj 14, Kandamby b Harbhajan 66, Kapugedera c Dhoni b Raina 35, Kulasekara n.o 9, Malinga c & b Harbhajan 0, Mendis st Dhoni b Harbhajan 7; Extras (lb 3, w 11, nb 1) 15 Total (in 46.4 ovrs) 273 Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-76, 385, 4-108, 5-131, 6-182, 7-252, 8-264, 9-264, 10-273 Bowling: Nehra 7-0-43-0, Ishant 7-0-51-1, RP Singh 5-034-1, Harbhajan 9.4-0-56-5, Yusuf 4-0-36-1, Yuvraj 6-0-241, Raina 8-0-26-1. TENDULKAR'S PERFORMANCE AT A GLANCE YEAR AGE MATCHES RUNS AVG 100s 50s 1989-92 17-21 65 1679 31.09 0 12 1994-98 22-25 142 6049 48.78 21 31 1999-03 26-30 114 4957 49.07 15 21 2004-08 31-35 98 3737 41.52 6 26 2009 36 9 473 59.12 2 1 TOTAL 428 16895 44.57 44 91 TENDULKAR AGAINST SRI LANKA 74 MATCHES 2749 RUNS 44.44 AVG PERFORMANCE IN AWAY MATCHES 140 MATCHES 4873 RUNS 37.77 AVG
If cricket is about problem solving, Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have all the answers at the moment. Ahead of the final, Dhoni had said that winning the toss was 60% of the job done, and putting 270 on the board increased the chances of success to 80%. His batsmen went one better, posting 319 for five, a score that has never been successfully chased at the R Premadasa Stadium. Kumar Sangakkara's team was unable to rewrite history, succumbing to 273 and defeat by 46 runs.
For the ninth time under Dhoni, India had emerged victors in a limited-overs episode.
There was nothing certain about this outcome, especially in the light of India's thrashing at Lanka's hands on Saturday.
But resilience has not been in short supply in this group.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid set the tone with an unhurried 95-run stand. Dhoni then took the game into his hands, walking out at No. 3, as Tendulkar ground the bowling.
Even as Dhoni gave way to a tentative Yuvraj Singh, the runrate barely suffered. Yuvraj slowly rained some familiar blows and some unfamiliar ones to reach 56. Tendulkar, who had the 36-year-old Dravid running for him at one stage, provided the backbone with 138.
Keen to buck the trend of teams batting second, Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan charged off their blocks.
A barrage of strokes left the fast bowlers exhausted and Dhoni was forced to turn to Harbhajan Singh early.
The heat of the battle brought out the warrior in the offie who ended with a five-wicket haul.
A brisk, well-targeted delivery rearranged Dilshan's stumps, and Mahela Jayawardene was conned into presenting a simple return catch. Sanath Jayasuriya swung Yusuf Pathan across the line but only managed a top edge, but Sri Lanka continued to attack.
When Sangakkara tried to fend off a RP Singh full toss, he lost control of his bat and watched it crash into his stumps. He left cursing his bad luck, but he knew that it was not only the bat that had slipped out of his hands. Thilina Kandamby (66) and Chamara Kapugedera (35) fought but they were faced with a mountain that wouldn't be climbed. SCORECARD India innings R Dravid c Dilshan b Jayasuriya 39, S Tendulkar lbw b Mendis 138, MS Dhoni c Kandamby b Malinga 56, Yuvraj Singh not out 56, Y Pathan c Kapugedera b Thushara 0, S Raina c Kulasekara b Thushara 8, V Kohli not out 2. Extras: (b 1, w 18, nb 1) 20.
Total (for 5 wickets) 319 Fall of wickets: 1-95, 2-205, 3-276, 4-277, 5-302 Bowling : Kulasekara 8-0-380, Thushara 10-0-71-2, Malinga 10-0-81-1, Mendis 10-0-70-1, Jayasuriya 9-0-43-1, Mathews 3-0-15-0.
Sri Lanka innings Dilshan b Harbhajan 42, Jayasuriya c Nehra b Pathan 36, Jayawardene c & b Harbhajan 1, Sangakkara hit wicket b Harbhajan 33, Thushara b Ishant 15, Mathews c Raina b Yuvraj 14, Kandamby b Harbhajan 66, Kapugedera c Dhoni b Raina 35, Kulasekara n.o 9, Malinga c & b Harbhajan 0, Mendis st Dhoni b Harbhajan 7; Extras (lb 3, w 11, nb 1) 15 Total (in 46.4 ovrs) 273 Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-76, 385, 4-108, 5-131, 6-182, 7-252, 8-264, 9-264, 10-273 Bowling: Nehra 7-0-43-0, Ishant 7-0-51-1, RP Singh 5-034-1, Harbhajan 9.4-0-56-5, Yusuf 4-0-36-1, Yuvraj 6-0-241, Raina 8-0-26-1. TENDULKAR'S PERFORMANCE AT A GLANCE YEAR AGE MATCHES RUNS AVG 100s 50s 1989-92 17-21 65 1679 31.09 0 12 1994-98 22-25 142 6049 48.78 21 31 1999-03 26-30 114 4957 49.07 15 21 2004-08 31-35 98 3737 41.52 6 26 2009 36 9 473 59.12 2 1 TOTAL 428 16895 44.57 44 91 TENDULKAR AGAINST SRI LANKA 74 MATCHES 2749 RUNS 44.44 AVG PERFORMANCE IN AWAY MATCHES 140 MATCHES 4873 RUNS 37.77 AVG