Put into bat on a pitch that had something in it for the bowlers, India were bowled out for a meagre 245. It was due to the efforts of Suresh Raina (106), Ravindra Jadeja (38) and Virender Sehwag (42) that India even reached a respectable total.

After the match, Dhoni was in no mood to hide his anger. “I don’t think the shot selection of our batsmen was great. Thanks to Suresh and Ravindra, we made it a contest but the batsmen should have been more careful,” a displeased Dhoni said after India lost the final by four wickets.

“You just cannot go out and go with the momentum of the series. We played this tournament on pitches where scoring wasn’t an issue. But today there was quite bounce in it and we should have been careful which we were not,” added the Indian skipper.

Defending a modest total of 245, India were dealt an early blow, with Ashish Nehra, who had removed Upul Tharanga in the first over, leaving the field because of a groin injury, having sent down just eight deliveries.

Dhoni thought that had the left-arm seamer been there his team could have put more pressure on the Lankans.

“I think if we hadn’t lost Ashish we would have fancied our chances,” Dhoni said. “There wasn’t any dew there. Pacers were getting the reverse swing and the spinners got turns. We did miss a bowler. (S) Sreesanth went for some runs initially but came back well with the old ball.”

So annoyed was Dhoni with the team’s performance that he wasn’t even satisfied with Raina’s hundred saying that the left-hander should have tried and batted till the end. “We could have got another 20 runs in that case. But he is young and learning it. Maybe next time he would try and do that,” Dhoni said.

Even though he was pained at losing the trophy, Dhoni said one positive was the bowlers’ return to form. “The good news is that the bowlers are returning to form, which is positive for us. As a team, we rely mainly on the batsmen but it’s good to see the bowlers striking form,” he said.

His Sri Lankan counterpart, Kumar Sangakkara, adjudged Man of the Series, meanwhile, was beaming after the win and said he had no complaints from his team.

“I always say that we have a number of match-winners in (Tillakaratne) Dilshan, Tharanga and Mahela (Jayawardene). We got a good start today and then Mahela finished it brilliantly. Both the opening bowlers (Nuwan Kulasekhara and Chanaka Welegedara) gave us early wickets and even though we could have been tighter in the middle overs, it was a great show in the end,” Sangakkara said.

“It was great how the youngsters came to the party and gelled with the seniors. I also want to say a big thank you to the selectors. There is a lot of pressure on them back home but they kept faith in the guys, so a big thank you,” he said.

Man-of-the-Match Nuwan Kulasekara, who scalped four for 48 in his impressive 10 overs, said he would relish Sehwag’s wicket most. “I am very happy because this is my first Man of the Match award outside my country. They had a good batting lineup, we needed wickets early. We came with a plan, and it worked. I enjoyed Sehwag’s wicket the most,” he said.

The final turned out to be a bit of a damp squib with the Indians going horribly wrong with their batting, getting bowled out for just 245 in 48.2 overs and denying their bowlers any real chance to win the game for them.

The game could have been even more one-sided had Suresh Raina not rescued the Indian innings by scoring a splendid 106. Virender Sehwag was the only batsman to contribute at the top of the order with a brisk 27-ball 42. Ravindra Jadeja gave able support to Raina, scoring a fighting 38.

Chasing 246 to win, Sri Lanka did fumble on a few occasions but eventually reached the target quite comfortably in 48.3 overs. Tillakaratne Dilshan (49) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (55) set up the chase for them and Mahela Jayawardena finished it off with a masterly knock of 71 not out.

India were not helped by the fact that one of their frontline bowlers, Ashish Nehra, injured his groin after bowling just 1.2 overs, during which he took the wicket of the Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga, and left the field.

Earlier, Suresh Raina scored his third ODI ton to guide India to a somewhat respectable total of 245 after they were left tottering at 60 for 5. Raina’s 106 came off 115 balls and included 10 fours and a six. He added 106 for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (38) to revive the Indian innings.

For Sri Lanka, it was the fast bowling duo of Nuwan Kulasekara (4/48) and Chanaka Welegedara (3/53) who broke the backbone of the Indian batting order.

Match Summary:

Sri Lanka 249 for 6 (Jayawardene 71**, Sangakkara 55) beat India 245 (Raina 106, Kulasekara 4-48) by four wickets

Man of the Match: Nuwan Kulasekara

Man of the Series: Kumar Sangakkara

“So far, he has indeed done very well. By the way, he is still very young and so, it’s too early to draw conclusions. Having said that, I think his bigger test will be against stronger teams like Australia and South Africa,” Ganguly told media persons here on the sidelines of the Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders’ camp here.

Kohli, who scored his first one-day hundred against Sri Lanka in the home series last month, has been in tremendous form in Bangladesh with scores of 91, 71 and 102 not out in the last three games of the tri-series.

Ganguly, who will be back as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the third edition of IPL later this year, termed India as the favourites to win the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka to be played on Wednesday. “Without doubt, India are the favourites. But at the same time, toss too would be an important factor as we have seen right throughout the tournament,” he pointed out.

Kohli cracked an unbeaten 102, his third consecutive fifty-plus score, to complete a comprehensive win for India. “He is learning quickly from his mistakes and shaping up well. Early on in his career, he had committed a few mistakes and failed to carry on his innings after a good start. But since the Australia series, he has picked up well, which is evident from his performance,” Dhoni said after the match.

Dhoni, however, was quick to add that it was the all-round performance of the team and not one individual which was responsible for the good show. “It’s not about individuals performing well, but the whole team is contributing. It’s a continuous effort from the side that we are playing some good cricket,” Dhoni said.

“We got a good start with (Dinesh) Karthik and (Gautam) Gambhir batting extremely well, and then Virat took over and went on to score a hundred. In cricket, it’s important that one carries on through the innings and others contribute and support him. And that’s what happened today,” Dhoni added.

Kohli, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant performance, said that he was now looking forward to replicate the performance against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. “I am happy with the way I played today. I was going great and hope to continue the good run in the final also. I am scoring good runs and converting starts into big knocks now, that is a good sign,” Kohli said.

“With no dew today, batting became a lot easier for me and I went on to score a hundred. I had committed a number of mistakes earlier and played some bad shots or threw away my wicket. But now, I have learnt from those mistakes and am getting big scores which is giving me confidence,” he added.

Meanwhile, a disappointed Bangladesh captain, Shakib Al Hasan, said that Bangladesh only had themselves to blame for the defeat. “I thought with no dew today we would do better, but that did not happen. We failed to deliver,” he said.

However, he praised young Mohammad Mahmudullah and hoped he would improve in future. “Mahmudullah played brilliantly in the series; he is one of the youngsters to watch out for. Overall, the youngsters have played well in the series. But it is always important to learn from mistakes and do better,” Shakib said.

India, set a target of 248 to win, raced past the total in just 43 overs. Virat Kohli slogged the Bangladesh skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, to mid-wicket for a four to complete his hundred and secure the win for India. Kohli, who had scored fifties in the previous two matches, remained unbeaten on 102 off just 95 balls in an innings laced with 11 boundaries.

Earlier, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and asked Bangladesh to bat first. The home team had their back to the wall with the top five batsmen back in the pavilion under 100. At 95 for 5, Shakib Al Hasan was joined by Mahmudullah and the duo put together a solid partnership of 102 runs for the sixth wicket to bring Bangladesh back into the game. Shakib scored a brilliant 85 off 97 balls, his 13^th ODI half century while Mahmudullah remained unbeaten at 64.

In reply, India never looked in trouble, with Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir getting them off to a solid start. The opening pair added 64 in 11 overs before Karthik (34) was caught behind off Shafiul Islam.

Gambhir then danced down the track to hoist Naeem, only to be beaten by the flight of the delivery that disturbed the stumps. Gambhir hit five fours in his 46-ball innings of 41. Yuvraj Singh (13) then came in but couldn’t last long as he failed to fend off a Naeem delivery that straightened after pitching to be out LBW and India were in a spot of bother at 133 for three in the 24th over.

But Kohli and MS Dhoni made sure that India didn’t falter in the chase, adding 68 runs for the fourth wicket. Dhoni perished in the 37th over while trying for a big shot by dancing down, only giving an easy catch to Imrul Kayes at mid-on off Shakib Al Hasan. The Indian captain hit three fours in his 35-ball 32.

Kohli and Suresh Raina (18-ball 18) then completed the formalities without any more hiccups.

The final of the tri series will be played between India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Match Summary:

India 249 for 4 (Kohli 102*, Gambhir 41, Naeem 2-35) beat Bangladesh 247 for 6 (Shakib 85, Mahmudullah 64*, Nehra 2-58) by 6 wickets

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli

Dhoni praised the batters of his team for their good showing as they chased down a challenging total of 297 while asking the bowlers to start performing.

“If we want to be at the number one spot, if we want to be consistent then we need to improve our performance in all departments, especially bowling. I want the bowlers to deliver when needed,” Dhoni said after India’s six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the third match of the series on Thursday.

The Indian bowlers’ were smashed all around the park as they gave away 88 runs in the last 10 overs to see Bangladesh pile up a huge 296 for six, their highest total against any test playing nation, in their allotted 50 overs. “We need to improve our performance by 50 per cent. I know that would be tough for the boys but that’s what international cricket is all about,” Dhoni said.

The Indian skipper said although they lost three crucial wickets in Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh early, they were always in control of the game. “I was never really worried as we had the second powerplay in hand. We were never really short of runs. We were always in reach of the target. So Virat and I decided to build up a partnership to lay the foundation and the plan worked,” Dhoni said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan blamed his bowlers for the loss especially after posting 296 on the board. “We knew there was going to be dew but we knew it was a good batting track so we had to bat first. Consistently we have been getting runs and it’s a plus point for us. Hopefully, we will try to bowl a bit better in the coming matches,” Shakib said.

Shakib also praised Dhoni and young Virat Kohli for setting the platform for India’s victory with a 152-run fourth wicket stand. “When we got the early wickets, we thought we got a chance but they (Dhoni and Kohli) got a very good partnership in the middle overs and played sensibly. All credit goes to India,” Shakib said.

India, chasing a competitive target of 297 to win, were in trouble with the top three batsman back in the pavilion inside the first 10 overs for just 51 runs before Virat Kohli (91) and MS Dhoni (101 not out) revived the Indian innings with a 152-runs fourth wicket partnership.

Kohli missed out on his second ODI hundred, getting out for 91, caught and bowled off the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan. But Dhoni continued the good work in the company of Suresh Raina (51), taking the team home with more than 2 overs to spare.

Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and to everyone’s surprise opted to bat first. And the batsmen didn’t disappoint their skipper as they piled up a challenging total of 296 for 6 in 50 overs.

Openers Tamim Iqbal (60) and Imrul Kayes (70) got Bangladesh off to a flying start scoring 80 runs in 11 overs. The Indian bowlers then fought back in the middle overs not allowing any big partnership to flourish. But all-rounder Mahmudullah finished off the innings on a high scoring an unbeaten 60 off just 45 balls. This was Bangladesh’s highest total against any test playing nation.

Yuvraj Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers, conceding just 33 runs in his 10 overs while picking up 1 wicket. Nehra, Sreesanth, Harbhajan and Jadeja also shared a wicket each.

In reply, Bangladesh had the famed Indian batting line-up on the mat, with Virender Sehwag (13), Gautam Gambhir (18) and Yuvraj Singh (1) back in the pavilion for just 51 runs. But Virat Kohli once again proved why he is rated so highly by everyone in the team.

Kohli, who scored his maiden century during a match-winning knock last month in the Kolkata ODI against Sri Lanka, played with immense maturity and confidence.  With Dhoni at the other end, Kohli played his strokes without taking much risk, hitting seven fours in his 102-ball stay while Dhoni’s 107-ball knock had nine fours.

After the dismissal of Kohli, Raina came in and played fluently, stroking five fours and one six for his 43-ball 51.

Match Summary:

India 297 for 4 (Dhoni 101*, Kohli 91) beat Bangladesh 296 for 6 (Kayes 70, Mahmudullah 60*, Tamim 60) by six wickets

Man of the Match: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

“It was always going to be difficult to defend a total like 280-285. Dew became a huge factor. We knew we had to pick early wickets. After the first 10 overs there was nothing for the bowlers,” Dhoni said. “We can make a request for an early start but if you have to play at the same time, you have to come up with something else.”

Elaborating his point, Dhoni said the Indian bowlers cannot be blamed for not being able to defend a total of 279 because it was very difficult to grip the ball.

“It was difficult for the spinners to grip the ball. The ball kept slipping out. There was no yorkers, no reverse-swing and no spin for my bowlers,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara was all smiles after the win and he lavished praise on centurion Thilan Samaraweera and youngster Thissara Perera whose unbeaten 15-ball 36 took the game away from India.

“All credit to Sammy for batting through, and Perera played superbly too. When we started out in the morning, it was like ‘here we go again’, but (Chanaka) Welegedara did well to bring us back in. Suraj Randiv bowled well, and I think our fielding was much better. The attitude of the players was brilliant, we were out there to win,” Sangakkara said.

Man of the Match Thilan Samaraweera thanked his teammates for the win and said his second ODI century was all the more memorable since it came for a winning cause. “I knew it was a matter of having partnerships. At the top, I had one with Sangakkara and then Perera played a great knock down the order. My plan was to hang around till the 44th over and then take it from there. In the batting powerplay, I knew we can get 50-60 runs from 30 balls,” said the right-hander.

Chasing 280 to win, Sri Lanka were in trouble at one stage but they eventually reached home comfortably in 48 overs, thanks to a 122-runs partnership between skipper Kumar Sangakkara (60) and Thilan Samaraweera (105 not out of 106 balls) with Perera playing a gem of a cameo scoring 36 off just 15 balls including 6 fours and a six.

This is Sri Lanka’s second successive win in this tournament after losing both the tests and the ODI series to India before coming to Bangladesh for the tri-series.

Earlier, being put into bat, India posted a competitive total of 279 for 9, thanks to a well-composed 74 by the fit-again Yuvraj Singh. Virender Sehwag (47), MS Dhoni (37), Suresh Raina (35) and Ravindra Jadeja (39), all chipped in with useful contributions but no one could go on to make a big score. India managed just 20 runs from the last five overs, losing four wickets during that period and that probably proved the turning point of the game.

For Sri Lanka, Chanaka Welegedara was the most successful bower with figures of five for 66 while his pace colleagues Thissara Perera and Thilan Thushara chipped in with two wickets each.

The next match of the tournament will be played between India and Bangladesh on Thursday.

Match Summary:

Sri Lanka 283 for 5 (Samaraweera 105*, Sangakkara 60, Harbhajan 3-47) beat India 279 for 9 (Yuvraj 74, Sehwag 47, Welegedara 5-66) by five wickets

Man of the Match: Thilan Samaraweera

Chasing a competitive target of 261 to win, the Lankans completed a comprehensive victory with more than 5 overs to spare, thanks to a brilliant 104 by Tillakaratne Dilshan while skipper Kumar Sangakkara too continued his good form, scoring a 73-ball 74.

Dilshan’s hundred, his sixth in one-day internationals, came off just 122 balls and included 12 boundaries as the opener almost carried his bat through the innings before being dismissed with just 19 runs to get. This was the opener’s third hundred in the last six innings that he has played.

The duo of Dilshan and skipper Sangakkara added 148 runs for the second wicket to make easy work of the Bangladesh total. Thilan Samaraweera also chipped in with an unbeaten 41 as Sri Lanka reached the target in 44.5 overs with 7 wickets remaining.

Earlier, Bangladesh, being put into bat, reached a competitive total of 260 for 7, thanks to a responsible innings by Mohammad Ashraful (75) and some useful contributions in the lower order by Mushfiqur Rahim (35) and Mahmudullah (45).

Ashraful, curbing his natural attacking instincts, played with a lot of composure as he lay the foundation for a good total, hitting six boundaries during his 94-ball knock. Mahmudullah, on the other hand, was at his attacking best making 45 off just 47 balls with the help of three boundaries and a six.

For Sri Lanka, Suranga Lakmal and Suraj Randiv were the notable wicket-takers with figures of two for 63 and two for 51 respectively.

With the win, Sri Lanka went to the top of the table with 4 points. The next match will be played between India and Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Match Summary:

Sri Lanka 261 for 3 (Dilshan 104, Sangakkara 74) beat Bangladesh 260 for 7 (Ashraful 75, Mahmudullah 45) by seven wickets

Man of the Match: Tillakaratne Dilshan