Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Sri Lanka posted a moderate score of 238 for 6 in 50 overs.
Though the start was not good for Sri Lanka losing 2 crucial wickets of Jayasuria and Dilshan for 6 runs, it was Jayawardane and Sangakkara whose 153 run partnership for the 3rd wicket gave a chance for Sri Lanka to fight back. Sangakkara was dismissed in the penultimate over for 128. He played well throughout the innings giving tough jobs for the bowlers. His 128 came off 155 balls with 12 fours. Jayawardane scored 71 off 99 balls with 4 fours and a six. The turning point of the Sri Lankan innings was the run out of Jayawardane.
Indian innings started with a big blow--Sachin was bowled by Malinga with a superb unplayable delivery. The top order collapsed once again for India with Gambhir (15) and Uthappa (10) back in the pavilion with 35 on the score board. Rohit and Yuvaraj added useful 64 before Rohit was dismissed by Muralitharan for 24. Then, it was completely upto Dhoni, the skipper and Yuvaraj, the deputy. Yuvaraj played his first best game of this tour with a superb 76 off 70 balls with 10 fours and a six. This created an opportunity for India to see the victory line. With Yuvaraj departing at 158 and India requiring another 81 off 17 overs, Pathan joined Dhoni and added 58 runs which regained the hope of winning the match. With 23 required off 27 balls, the match was toggling between India and Sri Lanka. Both Pravin Kumar and Harbhajan were dismissed cheaply for 6 and 3 respectively. Finally with 2 wickets in hand, and 3 runs required off 8 balls, Dhoni lead India to winning runs by pushing the ball to covers and running 2 runs. He also reached 50 while scoring those 2 winning runs. Amerasinghe took 3 wickets for Sri Lanka.
Final Score:
Sri Lanka 238 for 6 in 50 overs (Sangakkara 128, Jayawardane 71) lost to India 239 for 8 in 49.1 overs (Yuvaraj 76, Dhoni 50 Not Out, Pathan 31, Amerasinghe 3 for 49, Malinga 2 for 37)
Man of the Match: Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
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