COLOMBO. July 7: India made a splendid fightback to beat Sri Lanka by six runs and win the three-
nation Independence Cup cricket tournament under lights at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday, reports AP.
The Sri Lankans at one stage looked set to win the game at 280 for four, but with the dismissal of veteran campaigner Aravinda de Silva for 105 the tourists made a sensational return to bundle out the home side for 301 in the third ball of the last over.
Enraged spectators threw empty water bottles and other objects onto the field to vent their disappointment after Indian wicketkeeper Nayan Mon-gia flicked off the bails to run out Pramodya Wickremasinghe who attempted a second run. Sri Irinka needed nine runs in the last over bowled by leg-spinner /\nil Kumble.
Mongia earlier in the innings pulled off a spectacular catch off paceman Ajit Agarkar to get rid of Arjuna Ranatunga for 23.
Indian openers Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly earlier hammered centuries to set up a world record partnership ■ >1 252 runs for the first wicket ■is the tourists batted untroubled on a docile pitch.
Tendulkar smashed 128 in 131 balls while Ganguly stroked 109 as the pair put on an imposing 252 runs to surpass a previous best 225 by Kenya's Kennedy Olieno and Dipak Chudasaman against Bangladesh at Nairobi. Kenya in 1997-98.
Tendulkar blasted his first 50 in only 39 balls with six fours and one six but reached the balance 50 runs with lust a single boundary added as he led the way in consolidating India's Kasition after his skipper Mo-ammed Azharuddin won the toss and decided to bat.
Tendulkar in all hit eight fours and two sixes before the video umpire ruled him stumped off a ball from Sanath Jayasuriya in the 44th over.
Tendulkar in the process equalled a world record of 17 centuries in one-day internationals set by West Indies batsman Desmond Haynes.
Tendulkar was named man-of-the-match while De Silva was adjudged man-of-the-se-ries.
Ganguly fell in the next over giving Muttiah Muralitharan a return catch after hitting six fours and two sixes.
Ganguly however survived an anxious moment when wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwi-thararia's leg-side appeal fora catch against Kumara Dharm-asena was turned down with his score on 98 and the total on 233.
The exits of Tendulkar and Ganguly did not bring an end to Sri Lanka's woes as Robin Singh (15) and Ajay Jadeja (25) wreaked further havoc on the home side.
Jadeja made his runs in only 25 balls while hitting Dhar-masena for two successive sixes over long-on.
The final scorecard of the India-Sri Lanka Independence Cup final at the Premadasa Siadium in Colombo on Tues-day:
INDIA
Ganguly c and
b Muralitharan 109
Tendulkar st Kaluwitharana b
Jayasuriya 128
Azharuddin b Chandana 5
Jadeja b Jayasuriya 25
Robin run out 15
Agarkar run out 5
Kanitkar not out 5
Extras: (b 3. w 12) 15
Total: (For 6 wickets in 50 overs) 3 07
Fall of wickets: 1-252. 2-252, 3-262. 4-297. 5-297. 6-307. Bowling O M R W
Wickremasinghe 7 0 43 0
Bandaratllleke 5 0 36 0
Dharmascna 10 0 67 0
Muralitharan 8 0 51 1
Jayasuriya 9 0 42 2
A de Silva 6 0 32 0
Chandana 5 0 33 1
SRI LANKA
Jayasuriya c Ganguly b Agarkar 32
Kaluwitharana b Agarkar 24 A de Silva c Harbhajan
1> Agarkar 105
Atapattu c Prasad b
Harbhajan 39
Ranatunga c Mongia b
Agarkar 23
Mahanama run out 44
Chandana b Kumble 4
Dharmasena lbw Pra; tad 2
Wickremasinghe run < mt 5
Bandaratllleke run oi it 0
Muralitharan not out 1
Extras: (lb 15. b 1, w4 nb2) 22
Total: (All out in 49.3 overs) 301
Fall of wickets: 1-f >9. 2-73. 3-160, 4-197, 5-172, 6-) 180. 7-287. 8-295. 9-298. 10-301.
Bowling: O M R W
Agarkar 10 0 53 4
Prasad 10 0 56 1
Kumble 9.3 0 57 1
Harbhajan 10 0 57 1
Robin 5 0 25 0
Kanitkar 4 0 24 0
Tendulkar I 0 13 0
Result: India wli i by 6 runs and the Independenc t Cup.
Player-of-the-ma tch:
Sachin Tendulkar.