Congratulate Team India

Team India [ Images ] came up with a near-perfect performance to crush Sri Lanka by 81 runs and end their Asia Cup jinx, in Dambulla, on Thursday.

- Scorecard

The visitors last won the tournament way back in 1995 and after the drubbing at the hands of Sri Lanka [ Images ] in the last league match on Tuesday it seemed that wait would continue.

But Mahendra Singh Dhoni [ Images ] and his boys produced a much-improved performance to make the final a one-sided contest.

Having won the toss, India never let the advantage slip as they posted a healthy 268 for six in their 50 overs. Sri Lanka's run chase never got going after Praveen Kumar [ Images ] scalped the wicket of the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan [ Images ] (0) in the very first over.

It went downhill for the hosts after Ashish Nehra [ Images ] grabbed three quick wickets, those of Mahela Jayawardene [ Images ] (11), Angelo Mathews [ Images ] (0) and Kumar Sangakkara [ Images ] (17).

Nehra finished with remarkable figures of four for 40 in nine overs, while Zaheer Khan [ Images ] claimed two for 36 to script one of India's most memorable triumphs in recent times.

The team faced a lot of flak after the poor showing in the ICC [ Images ] Champions Trophy [ Images ] and World Twenty20 [ Images ], but they made sure they broke that unfortunate sequence in the all-important Asia Cup.

- Congratulate Dhoni and his boys.