ADELAIDE - India and Sri Lanka finished in a sensational tie in their tri one-day series international at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. India skipper M.S. Dhoni needed to hit four off the last ball by Lasith Malinga but he was denied and the Indian players scampered through for three runs to level the scores.
Both teams finished with 236 for nine from their 50 overs in a dramatic finale after India needed nine runs to win off the final over. Dhoni, who steered India to a final-over victory against Australia at the same ground last Sunday, threatened to repeat that success but was thwarted as the Sri Lankans searched desperately for their first win of the tri-series.
The tie lifted India to the top of the tournament standings ahead of Australia, with Sri Lanka yet to win from their three games. Dhoni finished unbeaten on 58 off 69 balls with one booming six and three fours, while opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was out in the 90s for a second consecutive innings after he was run out for 91. India looked poised to nudge past the plucky Sri Lankans in the final over but Ranganath Vinay Kumar was run out on the second-last ball by a direct throw at the non-striker's end. Dhoni then faced a final ball shot for a winning boundary only for Sachithra Senanayake to cut off the ball and enable India enough time to take three and level the scores.
It was the first ever tie between India and Sri Lanka in one-dayers. Once again star India batsman Sachin Tendulkar failed to score his 100th international century and was dismissed for 15. Earlier, Dinesh Chandimal topscored with 81 as Sri Lanka reached 236 for nine off 50 overs. Chandimal, 22, hit six fours and a six off 91 balls before he was run out and Sri Lanka, who won the toss, set India just over 4.7 runs an over to win.
scoreboard
SRI LANKA:
U Tharanga c Dhoni b Vinay 0
T Dilshan c Dhoni b Pathan 16
K Sangakkara c Gambhir b Ashwin 31
D Chandimal run out 81
M Jayawardene lbw b Vinay 43
A Mathews run out 17
T Perera c Kohli b Ashwin 5
N Kulasekara c Gambhir b Vinay 12
S Senanayake not out 22
L Malinga run out 0
R Herath not out 1
EXTRAS: (lb3, w5) 8
TOTAL: (9 wkts; 50 overs) 236
FOW: 1-0, 2-28, 3-79, 4-173, 5-178, 6-184, 7-210, 8-232, 9-235
BOWLING: Vinay Kumar 10-1-46-3, Pathan 9-0-38-1, Yadav 9-0-51-0, Ashwin 10-1-30-2, Jadeja 10-0-58-0, Sharma 2-0-10-0
INDIA:
G Gambhir run out 91
Sachin c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 15
V Kohli lbw b Perera 15
R Sharma run out 15
S Raina c Sangakkara b Malinga 8
MS Dhoni not out 58
R Jadeja c Jayawardene b Perera 3
R Ashwin c Senanayake b Malinga 14
I Pathan run out 8
R Vinay Kumar run out 1
U Yadav not out 0
EXTRAS: (lb1, w6, nb1) 8
TOTAL: (9 wkts; 50 overs) 236
FOW: 1-24, 2-61, 3-94, 4-118, 5-178, 6-184, 7-212, 8-223, 9-233
BOWLING: Malinga 10-1-53-2, Kulasekara 10-0-39-1, Mathews 5-0-35-0, Perera 9-0-45-2, Herath 10-1-33-0, Senanayake 6-0-30-0
Man-of-the-match: MS Dhoni (IND)
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Simon Fry (AUS) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Bruce Oxenford (AUS)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)