M.S. Dhoni did the impossible yet again, coming to the fore when India needed him most to propel his side to the tri-series title with a nerve-wracking one-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final.
The Queen's Park Oval crowd were not treated to too many runs, but instead witnessed a cracking finale which went right down to the wire, and Dhoni, as is his wont, making all the difference in the end.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 201 in 48.5 overs, leaving India needing a relatively makeable 202 for a win. And the ICC Champions Trophy winners looked on course for the win too, with Rohit Sharma (58, 89b, 5x4, 1x6) playing a nice patient little innings on a difficult pitch for the batsmen.
After fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli fell early, Rohit built two crucial little partnerships with Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina as India were seemingly cruising towards the target.
However, Rohit's wicket in the 32nd over, led to a collapse as India went from 139 for three to 152 for seven and then 182 for nine, leaving Dhoni to do the needful in the company of a nervous-looking No.11 Ishant Sharma.
There is no better player in the game when it comes to finishing off the innings than Dhoni and the India skipper did not disappoint, waiting patiently for the right moment to take the attack to the Sri Lankans.
That right moment happened to come by only in the final over, with India needing 15 runs for a win. Dhoni played a dot ball in the first from Shaminda Eranga, before launching into the second delivery, slamming it for a huge six which almost went out of the stadium.
Dhoni (45, 52b, 5x4, 2x6) then smashed a four off the very next ball, before toasting another maximum off the fourth ball of the over to take India to a stunning victory.
"I think I am blessed with a bit of good cricketing sense," Dhoni said after the match. "Fifteen players have been very good on the field and that is a good sign.
"The opposition bowler was not the most experienced in that last over unlike (Lasith) Malinga, so I thought I would take my chances. I went with a heavy bat, the weight was perfect for slogging."
Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara (71, 100b, 6x4, 1x6) and Lahiru Thirimanne (46, 72b, 4x4) built a solid base, with a partnership of 122 runs, for Sri Lanka to post a big total, but once the duo got out, Sri Lanka lost the plot, crashing from 171 for two to 201 all out, which at the end of the day proved to be the deciding factor in the final.
"It was a great game, the bowlers showed a lot of character to defend 200," Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said. "Sanga and Thirimanne batted really well, but we lost momentum after that.
"Had we played until the end, we could have pushed it to 230-240 and that would have been enough.
"(Rangana) Herath bowled really well to bring us back into the game, but Dhoni is always a dangerous batsman. We played a good tournament throughout, didn't win the title, but the players showed a lot of character."
