Quite an efficient win by the Indians. Since this is a bilateral series there was no need to worry about net run rate so the Indians could afford to take their time. Never at any stage were there any signs of panic and Dhoni deserves credit for nudging the singles. Gambhir and Raina were positive at the top, Yuvraj didn't get bogged down by the spinners and importantly, India took advantage of the fact that the opposition attack enough. Stay with us for the presentation.
This is India's sixth consecutive win.
Here's Mahela Jayawardene: "They didn't panic at the end. MS batted well. The bowlers bowled well upfront but we couldn't keep the pressure. There was no sideways movement as well. We took the 3rd Powerplay at the right time but unfortunately we lost a couple of wickets. Sanath was brilliant today."
Dhoni: "All the bowlers chipped in. Same for the batsmen as well. We could have bowled a lot better with the new ball. We wanted Jayasuriya to take risks and we played to a plan."
Jayasuriya is the Man of the Match for his 107. He said: "I think the Indians batted well and we fell about 25-30 short. We just need to play more positive cricket. We need to put more pressure on the Indian batsmen."
That's it from us. Do join us for the second match on January 31, remember it's a day-night game in Colombo. On behalf of Siddharth Ravindran and Binoy George, this is Kanishkaa signing off. Cheers!
END OF OVER:48 | 9 Runs | IND: 246/4 (1 run required from 12 balls, RR: 5.12, RRR: 0.50)
- Rohit Sharma25 (30b)
- MS Dhoni60 (64b)
- Thilan Thushara8-0-44-1
- Ajantha Mendis10-0-47-0
10 to win off three overs, here's Thushara, he comes over the wicket, the Powerplays are over
END OF OVER:47 | 7 Runs | IND: 237/4 (10 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 5.04, RRR: 3.33)
- Rohit Sharma20 (27b)
- MS Dhoni58 (61b)
- Ajantha Mendis10-0-47-0
- Muthiah Muralidaran10-0-52-1
END OF OVER:46 | 11 Runs | IND: 230/4 (17 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 5.00, RRR: 4.25)
- MS Dhoni52 (57b)
- Rohit Sharma19 (25b)
- Muthiah Muralidaran10-0-52-1
- Ajantha Mendis9-0-40-0
Another typically efficient fifty by the captain
END OF OVER:45 | 5 Runs | IND: 219/4 (28 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 4.86, RRR: 5.60)
- MS Dhoni46 (53b)
- Rohit Sharma14 (23b)
- Ajantha Mendis9-0-40-0
- Muthiah Muralidaran9-0-41-1