Maharoof hat-trick helps Sri Lanka beat India

Seamer Farveez Maharoof grabbed a hat-trick on his way to 5-42 as Sri Lanka beat India by seven wickets in the last league match of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

Maharoof's feat helped knock India over for 209, before senior pros Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene helped the defending champions gallop past the modest target in the 38th over.

Skipper Sangakkara hit 73 off 82 balls and Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 53 during a match-winning stand of 104 for the third wicket at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.

The two sides will clash again in Thursday's final of the four-nation tournament, which also featured Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Maharoof, a 25-year-old veteran of 93 one-day internationals, trapped Ravindra Jadeja leg-before, bowled Praveen Kumar and had Zaheer Khan caught behind off successive deliveries in his ninth over.

India were without opener Virender Sehwag, who was ruled out of both Tuesday's match and the final due to a hamstring injury sustained against Pakistan on Saturday.

Dinesh Karthik, who flew in from Chennai to replace Sehwag, hit 40 off 43 balls after an opening stand of 58 with Gautam Gambhir.

Sri Lanka, who rested three frontline bowlers in Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera and Muttiah Muralitharan, reduced India to 110-4 by the 23rd over.

Rohit Sharma (69) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41) retrieved the situation by adding 79 for the fifth wicket, before the Indian captain was run out.

Dhoni's dismissal triggered a collapse as India slipped from 189-4 to 189-8 in the space of four deliveries as Maharoof sliced through the lower order.

India were all out with 7.3 overs still remaining from their allotted 50.

Sri Lanka made a confident reply under lights, racing to 80-1 by the 14th over.

India missed the rested bowling duo of Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh as Sangakkara and Jayawardene fired Sri Lanka home in the one-sided contest.