Asia Cup, 2010

At Dambulla, June 24, 2010 (day/night). India won by 81 runs. Toss: India.

Sri Lanka may have topped the qualifying table, but India came up with an excellent all-round performance in the final to win the Asia Cup for the first time since 1994-95. They controlled the match from the start, reaching an impressive total of 268 after winning the toss. The top-scorer was Karthik, who had joined the team in mid-tournament after Virender Sehwag tweaked a hamstring. His nine fours included four in six balls - three of them sweetly timed off-side drives - from Maharoof, India's destroyer in the last group game but ineffective this time. Sri Lanka's batting, so consistent in the earlier matches, was then swept aside by India's seamers, who used the blustery conditions well to reduce them to 51 for five. Kumar started the slide in the first over, persuading Dilshan to mis-pull his second ball tamely to mid-on. Kandamby and Kapugedera repaired some of the damage in a stand of 53, but when Kandamby was stranded after trying a non-existent run to Kohli in the covers there was little to come. Left-armer Nehra was the pick of the bowlers, picking up three early wickets in the space of eight balls. "It was a good toss to win - conditions were ideal for batting," admitted Dhoni. "It got a bit slower as the game progressed and started doing a bit under the lights, and the fast bowlers made the most of it."

Man of the Match: K. D. Karthik. Man of the Series: Shahid Afridi.