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India crashed out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2010 with a defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankans which meant that the team repeated its performance in the 2009 edition - two victories in the group stage followed by three defeats in the Super 8s. Today's win has more or less assured Sri Lanka a semi-final spot with the West Indies needing a big win against the Australians to knock the Lankans out. The key players chipped in for Sri Lanka when the team needed it most and that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

The Indians, batting first after Mahendra Singh Dhoni had won the toss, set up a target of 164 for the Lankans. India needed to restrict Sri Lanka to below 143 to keep their hopes of a semi-final appearance alive. After sixteen overs in the Sri Lankan innings, the match was pretty much in the balance with the batting side needing 52 for victory and India needing to restrict them to 32. And that was when the men in the middle took charge for the Lankans and took the game away, ultimately winning it with a huge hit into the stands of the last delivery.

India's new opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik got the team off to a nice steady start. The 30-run opening partnership was broken when Lasith Malinga got the wicket of Karthik, caught and bowled for 13. That brought the in-form man, Suresh Raina out to the middle. Raina had got a century the last time the Indian team was at St. Lucia and he seemed to be carrying on from where he had left. His three boundaries in the sixth over took India to 52/1 at the end of the powerplays which was by far the best India had managed in the tournament so far.

Gambhir, who had not been at his best thus far, finally seemed to be getting his act together. With Raina also going well, the Indian innings moved at a brisk pace. The 50 run partnership for the second wicket was brought up in just 28 balls. At the halfway stage India was placed well at 90 for 1, looking good for a total in excess of 180, something that would give their semi-final hopes a big boost.

But just when game seemed to be drifting away from Sri Lanka, Malinga, brought back into the attack to break the partnership. He struck with his first ball getting Gambhir caught behind for 41. Dhoni walked in at number 4 to take charge of the innings and he made his intentions clear with a big hit over mid-wicket off Sanath Jayasuriya. Raina, meanwhile, was playing one of the more important innings' of his career at the other end. He reached his half-century in just 37 deliveries and looked to be in supreme form.

With 126 on the board and eight wickets in hand before the final five overs, a total around 180 was still very much on the cards. It was at this moment that Sri Lanka started to come back into the game. Malinga and Thissara Perera dried up the boundaries while left-arm seamer Thilan Thushara removed Raina (63) and Yuvraj Singh (1) in the 18th over. Yusuf Pathan (13), however, did manage to get a couple of boundaries away before being caught at long-off on the final delivery of the innings. Dhoni was not able to get the big shots out in the final overs and he was left stranded on 23 from 19.

Some superb death-bowling from the Lankans restricted India to 163, something their captain would be very pleased with after India had sprinted to 90 for 1 after 10 overs. India now had to restrict Sri Lanka under 143 to stay alive in the tournament. A couple of early wickets was what India needed to apply some pressure on the Lankans.

The Indian pacers responded brilliantly to the situation with Ashish Nehra getting the in-form Mahela Jayawardene (4) caught at first slip in the very first over and in the next over debutant, Vinay Kumar, had Jayasuriya (0) caught at mid-wicket. Skipper Sangakkara came out to join Tillakaratane Dilshan, who had not yet made any substantial contribution in the tournament. With his team under pressure, Dilshan went on the counter-attack. Three boundaries in an over off Nehra and two more off Harbhajan in the next over gave Sri Lanka some much needed momentum.

But Dilshan (33) probably went for a shot too many and ended up sweeping Yusuf Pathan straight to Yuvraj Singh at square-leg in the 8th over to leave Sri Lanka in a spot of bother at 49/3. Angelo Mathews, in at number 5, joined Sangakkara, and the pair took charge of the innings milking the bowling and putting together a crucial partnership. They did get a couple of maximums off the spinners but the asking rate was always climbing. Sangakkara, having got his eye in by now, realised the need to release a bit of the pressure and he did so in magnificent style with two big hits off Yusuf Pathan in the 14th over.

Just when the partnership was threatening to put an end to India's semi-final hopes, Vinay Kumar clattered Sangakkara's (46) woodwork to once again put the match back in the balance. With Harbhajan Singh's final over going for just five runs, the required rate for the Lankan was up to 13 runs an over in the last four overs. India's task, though, was to keep Sri Lanka down to less than 32 an unlikely outcome. However, with the next two overs going for 11 each, it was all but over for the Indians. A clean hit over long-on from Chamara Kapugedera's bat took the Lankans past the first hurdle of 143 and with India out of contention, the Lankans went for the kill. One more maximum from Kapugedera brought the target down to 13 off the final over.

Mathews gave his team the perfect start with a clean hit over long-off the very first ball off Nehra. A single, a two and another single in the next three deliveries took Sri Lanka to within three runs of victory with two balls remaining. But, there was more drama to follow as Mathews (46) ran himself out the next ball. With three needed off the final ball, Kapugedera (37 n.o.) lofted Nehra beyond the extra-cover boundary to secure not just victory, but possibly a semi-final spot for the Lankans.

A team-effort from the Sri Lankans has given them a new lease of life in this tournament. The likes of Dilshan, Mathews and Kapugedera, who had had a silent tournament so far joined the party when it mattered most. Angelo Mathews was awarded the man-of-the-match for his 46 off 37 deliveries, though you could have handed it to any of the four batsmen who delivered on the day.

Looking back, one would have to say that the Indians were a good 20 runs short of what they should have got after that explosive start. But credit should also be given to the Sri Lankan 'death' bowlers, especially Malinga. Sri Lanka gave away a measly 37 runs in the last five overs while the Indians in contrast leaked 55 runs in just the last four over. It's a second consecutive T20 World Cup disappointment for the Indians after their triumph in the first edition back in 2007. As for the Sri Lankans, they will have to wait for the Australia vs West Indies match to end to know if they will be getting an opportunity to make-up for their loss in the finals of the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup.

Mini scorecard:

India 163/5 (20 overs, 8.15 rpo)
S Raina 63 (47)           L Malinga 2-25
G Gambhir 41 (32)      T Thusara 2-41

Sri Lanka 167/5 (20 overs, 8.35 rpo)
K Sangakkara 46 (33)         R Vinay Kumar 2-30
A Mathews 46 (37)             Y Pathan 1-23

Also Read: Australia vs. West Indies Match Preview

File Photograph Copyright: ICC World T20

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