A spineless India crashed to their biggest ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining as Sri Lanka stormed into the final of the cricket tri-series with a resounding eight wicket victory. Thisara Perera produced a devastating spell of seam bowling to record his maiden five-wicket haul and play a big role in Sri Lanka's comprehensive victory. The 21-year-old Perera (5/28) ripped through the Indian middle order with a fine exhbition of swing bowling to skittle out the visitors for a paltry 103 in just 33.4 overs,their third lowest total against the Sri Lankans,in what turned out to be a totally lop-sided contest. The fired-up Sri Lankans rattled up the required runs of 104 in just 15.1 overs to gain a bonus point and become the first team to move into the final. Tillakaratne Dishan (35) and Mahela Jayawardene (33) virtually toyed with the Indian bowlers as they plundered runs at will to set up the chase brilliantly. Paceman Ishant Sharma dismissed both the openers Dilshan and Jayawardene in two consecutive deliveries but it came too late in the day as the islanders overhauled the target with 209 balls to spare. Till now,India's biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining was 174 against Australia at Sydney in 1981. In that match,India had scored 63 and Australia responded with 64 for one. It was an abject surrender by the lacklustre Indians who were outplayed in all departments of the game. The hosts completed their league engagements with 11 points and India will have to now win their last match against New Zealand on Wednesday to secure a berth in the final. New Zealand have seven points and India five points. Pacemen Lasith Malinga (2/21) and Nuwan Kulasekara (2/31) also chipped in with wickets to compound India's misery on a day when nothing seemed to go right for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men. Only Yuvraj Singh provided a semblance of resistance with a gritty 38 as the the Indian batsmen succumbed tamely on what appeared to be a spongy two-paced track at the Rangiri Dambulla International stadium. Yuvraj was a victim of a dubious leg before decision and there were a couple of dodgy decisions during the Indian innings but that was no excuse for the pathetic display. After the furore of the no-ball incident in the past few days,the Sri Lankans seemed all charged up for the must-win game and Dhoni's decision to bat first after winning the toss completely backfired.
