India rout Sri Lanka; book spot in final

An impressive bowling performance from team India saw them beat Sri Lanka comprehensively in the fifth match of the triangular series in Dhaka.

India beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the fifth match of the series which guarantees them of a place in the finals on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first, wanting to give their bowlers an opportunity to bowl under lights ahead of the final. They got off to a brisk start with Tillakaratne Dilshan returning to the opening spot but lost three wickets with 60 runs on the board in the Quick start overs. They collapsed further with wickets falling after regular intervals and were reduced to 84 for the loss of six inside the 20 over mark. Kumar Sangakkara found support in young, Suraj Randiv as the pair added 59 runs for the seventh wicket before Sangakkara got out playing a lose shot. Randiv shared another 59 run stand with Thilan Thushara for the eighth wicket and helped them past the 200 run mark. But their last three wickets fell for just nine runs, leaving them with a total of 213 to defend.

India got off to the perfect start in their run chase. Dinesh Karthik, who was in the side for Virender Sehwag, along with Gautam Gambhir posted 86 runs on the board inside the first Power Play. The brisk start put India in a comfortable position as reflected on the Castrol Index. Gautam Gambhir was joined by Virat Kohli after Karthik got out and the two added 72 runs for the second wicket before Gambhir was dismissed. Kohli remained unbeaten on 71 off just 68 balls as India got home in just 32.4 overs. India were clear winners on the day and the quick run chase also earned them a bonus point which gives them an opportunity to go top of the table if they can find a win against Bangladesh tomorrow.

Zaheer Khan was adjudged Man of the Match for his three wickets for 38 runs with a Bowling Efficiency of 237.