Scoreboard

Sri Lanka outplayed India in all departments of the game to win the Asia Cup for the third time in Colombo on Sunday.

India could only muster 203 runs in their fifty overs in reply to Sri Lanka's 228 as the hosts won the final by 25 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar's valiant 74 was in vain as he received virtually no support from the other Indian batsmen.

Sri Lanka innings

India recalled batsman Vangipurappu Laxman, who recovered from a bruised knee, for Parthiv Patel, and spinner Anil Kumble was left out for an extra seamer in Ashish Nehra.

Sri Lanka were also able to field a full-strength side following the return of pace bowler Chaminda Vaas and off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who missed the team's four-run loss to India on Tuesday.

On a wicket that was expected to aid spinners, Ganguly's decision to drop Kumble seemed rather odd, but it also reflected the confidence that the Indian skipper now has in the bowling abilities and form of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

For India, it was crucial to get the wicket of the in-form Sanath Jayasuriya early, keeping in mind the devastation he caused in the last game between the two sides.

Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra were given the responsibility of sharing the new ball ahead of Zaheer Khan. Pathan swung the ball away from the left-handers, Jayasuriya and Avishka Gunawardene, and managed to keep them quiet. But after hitting a few fours off Nehra, the Sri Lankans were back on the track. After five overs, they were 23 without loss.

India needed some wickets and, as has become the norm, Pathan struck a decisive blow when he trapped Jayasuriya (15) plumb in front of his wicket. (28 for 1)

In the very next over, Gunawardene joined Jayasuriya in the pavilion. The big left-hander drove Nehra on the up, straight down Sourav Ganguly's throat at mid-off (31 for 2).

Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Atapattu needed to do what he is best known for - display his cool at the wicket. He announced his intention with three classic boundaries in one Pathan over, the last of his first spell.

But Atapattu, on 14, was very lucky to survive in the next over. Nehra trapped him plumb in front of the wicket, but umpire Billy Bowden ruled not out. The batsman responded with a boundary off the next ball to rub it in.

Sangakarra, who joined his skipper at the fall of Gunawardene's wicket, was dropped by Laxman, at first slip, in Zaheer Khan's first over. It was a difficult chance, but one which top-class slip fielders are expected to take. In the space of two overs, lady luck smiled on the hosts.

Those were the breaks the batsmen needed. Both settled down and played some very orthodox cricket to start with. Atapattu has always been a purists delight, and today he showed why, with superbly timed drives.

Sangakarra, too, found his touch. The batsmen milked Zaheer Khan for 35 runs off his seven overs. The left-arm bowler indeed still looks some way from full fitness. He seemed rather flat compared to the rest of the Indian team.

India struck soon after the drinks break. The very first ball after the break from Sehwag saw Sangakarra (53 off 82 balls) try to work the ball to the off-side, but the ball tuned after pitching outside the leg-stump and hit the off-stump. (147 for 3)

The duo added a 116-run partnership that put the Lankans in a position of strength. But throughout the partnership, the run-rate never rose above 4.5 runs per over.

The steady run-rate also meant that a few quick wickets would mean that Sri Lanka would end up well short of 250. In the overs that followed that's exactly what happened.

Mahela Jayawardene (3) was first to go. He attempted to sweep Tendulkar, who was bowling from round the wicket, but got a top-edge and Yuvraj Singh, at short fine leg, took an easy catch. (150 for 4)

Atapattu was dismissed trying to push up the run-rate. Sehwag contributed to the dismissal with a brilliant throw to leave the Lankan skipper stranded at 65. 

By the 40th over Sri Lanka were 175 for the loss of five wickets. They were still capable of reaching 250 and on a wicket that was helping the spinners a great deal that just might have been a winning score.

But Tendulkar turned his arm to devastating effect. He not only kept the runs down but also claimed the vital wicket of T Dilshan.

Dishan was starting to find his feet in the middle and had scored 22 before he charged Tendulkar in a rush of blood, missed the ball completely and was stumped by Dravid. (194 for 6)

Sri Lanka were six down and in a spot of bother. They were losing wickets rapidly and when Harbhajan trapped Upul Chandana (8) right in front of his stumps it looked as if the hosts might not last the fifty overs. (202 for 7)

Wickets kept tumbling but somehow Sri Lanka survived and reached 228 at the end of their allotted fifty overs. At one time, they seemed poised to reach 260 but Sehwag and Tendulkar came up with wonderful spells to restrict the hosts.

Sehwag was brilliant. His ten overs had two maidens, 32 runs and one wicket.

Tendulkar, not to be left behind, claimed two wickets in his ten overs, giving away 40 runs.

In the last ten overs, Sri Lanka scored only 53 and that just might be the difference between victory and defeat.

India innings

For India to win the match it was paramount that Sehwag stayed at the wicket for the first fifteen overs while the fielding restrictions applied. For the simple reason, the pitch was dry and as the match wore on it would become that more difficult to attack the spinners.

When Sri Lanka batted, Sehwag and Tendulkar had done the job as bowlers. Now, India needed them to stand up in their capacity as batsmen.

India needed to score 100 in the first 15 overs to give themselves a buffer that would give them a fighting chance later in the match, but Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa had different plans.

The duo bowled brilliant spells -- Vass (6-1-15-1) and Zoysa (8-2-18-1) -- to establish a stranglehold over the Indian batsmen, who failed to break the shackles throughout the innings.

India lost two wickets cheaply,  that of Sehwag, trapped leg-before wicket by Vaas, and then skipper Ganguly, caught brilliantly by Jayawardene at first slip off Zoysa.

Vaas, in particular, was impossible to put away. He pulled out all the tricks in his book -- the slower ball, the off-cutter, the short ball -- and Sehwag, for all his flamboyancy, had no answer to the left-armer today. On another day, he may have taken Vaas apart, but today he was outclassed. (15 for 1).

Zoysa, at the other end, proved to be the perfect foil to Vaas. In fact, in this tournament he has been the more lethal of the two. Ganguly survived, yes survived, just 19 balls before he was snared by the tall left-hander. (26 for 2).

In an extraordinary spell between the third and 12th over -- the Sri Lankans conceded just 17 runs in eight overs and claimed the wicket of Ganguly. All this while Tendulkar stroked the ball nicely but hardly got any strike.

Laxman, who joined Tendulkar at the fall of Ganguly's wicket, looked rusty, but he, like the batsmen before and after him, hogged the strike.

Laxman was just unable to get the ball away. There was one superbly-timed cover drive but other than that he had nothing to show for his efforts. He was dismissed trying to hit an inside-out shot off Jayasuriya but only found Dishan in the covers. (62 for three)

The writing was on the wall. India were tottering and unless Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar compiled a huge partnership, the final was lost.

Sehwag played 12 balls for his five runs, Ganguly played 20 for his four runs and Laxman scored only 12 off 34. All this meant that Tendulkar hardly got any strike in the first 15 overs though he was the only batsman who looked comfortable in the middle.

By the 25th over, India had reached 91 for the loss of three wickets.

Dravid (16 off 28 balls) and Tendulkar tried to settle down and play with great sensibility. But Chandana got the better of him. (96 for 4)

The leg-spinner then also accounted for a frustrated Yuvraj Singh (8 off 29 balls) and Mohammad Kaif (5 off 15 balls).  (135 for 6)

The spinners, Dilshan, Muralitharan, Jayasuriya and Chandana, all bowled with great control and guile. So much so that all the Indian batsmen, with the exception of Tendulkar, had virtually no idea of how to bat.

The trick would have been to take the singles. But such was the stranglehold of the Sri Lankan bowlers that even a single seemed to a chore beyond the Indians.

Tendulkar, it must be said, battled with great courage. He was without doubt the best of the Indians today. The master batsmen (74 off 100 balls) was eventually dismissed going for a huge slog off Dilshan. (130 for 7)

His was a controlled knock but he had absolutely no support from his fellow batsmen in what must count as one of the worst batting performances by this Indian line-up in recent times.

India's 50 came in the 16th over, 100 runs in 28th over, 150 in the 44th over and 200 in the 50th over. A clear indication of the team's plight.

The partnership for the ninth wicket, between Harbhajan (16 off 30) and Zaheer Khan, was the biggest of the innings and that tells you a lot about how India batted. It also showed that if one of the top order batsmen had given Tendulkar the support he so badly needed, the result might have been very different.

Zaheer's cameo, 28 off 24 balls, in the end helped India reach 200 but the match was over as early as the 40th over when Tendulkar was dismissed. It was a crushing defeat for India but the hosts proved that in home conditions they are indeed a very tough team to beat.

India, it can now be said with some certainty, underestimated the effects of a long break from international cricket. Sri Lanka were the better team and deserved to win. India, one hopes, can only get better.