India party to the max: Skipper Dhoni wins thrilling World Cup final with a six

If anyone doubts that then the silence – and you could hear a pin drop – from the crowd when Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for 18 was to hear the hopes of a nation dashed. But sport is not a fairytale and India are more than one player as much as the billion strong public obsess with the "Little Master". Indeed what this final proved is that India are an incredibly talented group and performed when it mattered most. They needed to as at the changeover and after the second ball dismissal of Virender Sehwag and then Tendulkar's dismissal Sri Lanka were clear favourites.

All scripts had been torn up. The crowd had come to worship an historic innings as Tendulkar stroked his way to his hundredth international century in his home city but instead they watched a quite brilliant undefeated hundred from Mahela Jayawardene. He scored 103 in 88 balls and barely played an aggressive stroke. It was exquisite as he deftly manoeuvred the ball into gaps, lifted gently over the infield and used his wrists to pierce gaps between fielders as if he was a surgeon. The composure and elegance were an aesthete's joy and such an innings did not deserve to lose the match.

Despite his brilliance India had a stranglehold on much of the Sri Lankan innings as Zaheer Khan delivered his first seven overs for just 16 runs. On a flat surface it was a stunning effort but even he suffered a pummelling in the final five overs as the batting power play was taken. His last three overs went for 44, some change in fortunes for one of the bowlers of the tournament. Jayawardene drove and finessed boundaries, Kulasekara aided with good hitting and running but it was Thisara Perera who swung hard and with success. His cameo of 22 in nine balls meant Sri Lanka had scored 63 runs from the final five overs.

Was 274 enough though? It looked it when Virender Sehwag was lbw second ball and Tendulkar edged behind. Lasith Malinga had taken both wickets and given his team a wonderful opportunity to win their second world cup. They could not complete it as Gambhir played beautifully, nurdling and nudging the ball around the field. An unsung member of India's vaunted and lauded team, he ignored the scoreboard, played sensibly and within his shot range and apart from one difficult chance on 30 when Nuwam Kulasekera was slow to sight a lofted drive, he remorselessly pushed India towards their target. Indeed it was a surprise with a hundred beckoning, the Sri Lankans fractious and the game as good as won that he attempted an ugly swipe and was bowled.

It was either the shot of a tired man or a temporary mind blank but his 97 was still superb for his team. Dhoni suffered no such lapse or delusion and hustled India to victory. It was a captain's innings as he pushed himself up the order to number five and took control on the pitch just when Sri Lanka felt they had made a breach. It was not always dazzling but it was always efficient. The kind of strong innings that has team-mates and coaches purring with delight. Not only did he personally perform but he was constantly talking Gambhir trough the game situation. It was fitting that he was there at the end and that he finished the match with a blistering six in to the stands. For the rest of his innings he had eschewed risk but when one blow was needed he unleashed the batsmen he started as.

It could have been different if Sri Lanka had picked more spinners. Bizarrely they left out Ajantha Mendis despite him playing in every other game and having an economy rate of three runs an over. India do play him better than say England but that is not enough reason to drop him. It put all the pressure on Muttiah Muralitharan and this was the second script that was brutally torn up. He failed to make an impact as his injured groin and hamstring prevented him driving through his bowling action fully and his fielding was laboured. Sri Lanka needed a top class spinner to take wickets, they had a man for whom this was a game too far.

Murali can retire with pride though.

Sri Lanka innings

U. Tharanga c Sehwag b Khan 2

T. Dilshan b Harbhajan Singh 33

K. Sangakkara c Dhoni b Yuvraj Singh 48

M. Jayawardene not out 103

T. Samaraweera lbw b Yuvraj Singh 21

C. Kapugedera c Raina b Khan 1

N. Kulasekara run out 32

T. Perera not out 22

Extras (b 1 lb 3 w 6 nb 2) 12

Total (for six wickets; 50 overs) 274

Fall of wickets: 1-17 2-60 3-122 4-179 5-182 6-248

Did not bat: L. Malinga, S. Randiv, M. Muralitharan

Bowling: Z. Khan 10-3-60-2 (1w), S Sreesanth 8-0-52-0 (2nb),

M. Patel 9-0-41-0 (1w), Harbhajan Singh 10-0-50-1 (1w), Yuvraj

Singh 10-0-49-2, S. Tendulkar 2-0-12-0 (3w), V. Kohli 1-0-6-0

India innings

V. Sehwag lbw b Malinga 0

S. Tendulkar c Sangakkara b Malinga 18

G. Gambhir b Perera 97

V. Kohli c & b Dilshan 35

MS Dhoni not out 91

Yuvraj Singh not out 21

Extras: (b-1, lb-6, w-8) 15

Total: (for four wickets, 48.2 overs) 277

Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-31 3-114 4-223

Did not bat: S. Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, S.

Sreesanth, M. Patel.

Bowling: Malinga 9-0-42-2 (2w), Kulasekara 8.2-0-64-0,

Perera 9-0-55-1 (2w), Randiv 9-0-43-0, Dilshan 5-0-27-1 (1w),

Muralitharan 8-0-39-0 (1w)