Images: India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Day 5

India registered a crushing victory over Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third and final Test to clinch the three-match series by a 2-0 margin.

With this victory India are now the No 1 Test team in the world. This is the first time that India has topped the ICC Test rankings since they were introduced in 2002.

Needing four wickets to wrap up the match, India cleaned up the Lankan tail in just 35 minutes to record their second successive victory of the series.

Resuming at 274 for six, Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara started the proceedings on day five with a boundary through point in the first over of the day, bowled by pacer Zaheer Khan.

However, Zaheer claimed the wicket of Sangakkara (137) off the very next delivery, when the southpaw edged one to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Later, Rangana Herath (3) was outdone by Zaheer's lethal bouncer and could only pull it to midwicket, where Pragyan Ojha took a good catch, leaping forward.

Zaheer completed his five-wicket haul when he had Kulasekara caught at second slip by VVS Laxman for 19 from 68 deliveries.

The medium-pacer was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 5-72.

Muttiah Muralitharan showed his intentions from the start as he heaved the first delivery he faced, from Zaheer, through the midwicket for a boundary.

Muralitharan hit three boundaries to score 14 before he was the last wicket to fall when Harbhajan Singh had him caught behind and India romped home to a 2-0 series win.

The victory has given India three points in the ICC rankings, taking their overall tally to 124 and leaving them
ahead of South Africa in the ICC table.

In the end, Sehwag's breathtaking innings of 293 proved to be the major difference and left India with a lot of time to bowl out the Sri Lankans.

Zaheer enhanced his reputation as one of the top fast bowlers in world cricket as he took five for 72, while Harbhajan continued to improve, with figures of two for 80.

The Indian players hugged each other and a beaming coach Gary Kirsten greeted them as they returned to the pavillion.

Kirsten, who has been at the helm of affairs from March 2008, will be glad that the effort put in by Team India over the last 18 months has finally paid off and he deserves credit for filling Indian cricketers with self-belief.

The Indians have very little time to celebrate their No 1 status, as they gear up for the Twenty20 matches that will commence no December 9 in Nagpur and Mohali, followed by a five-match One-day series which begins at Rajkot from December 15.