World Cup final: Jayawardena's ton helps Lanka set a target of 275

Mumbai: Some heartache, some cheer. The slog overs brought a flawless century from Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardena, and some fireworks from Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera. They also brought a spot of drama when Kulasekara was left stranded mid-field and a direct hit from skipper Dhoni brought the bails off. Scoring a six off the last ball of their innings, Lanka set a target of 275 for India.

Earlier, Sri Lanka lost two wickets in quick succession. Chamara Kapugedera was the fifth Sri Lankan batsman to get out. He lobbed a quick delivery from Zaheer Khan straight to Suresh Raina.

In the previous over, Yuvraj Singh had struck for the second time scalping Thilan Samaraweera, who was out leg before in this big cricket World Cup final.

And it doesn't get bigger than this. Thirty-seven-year-old champion batsman and local boy Sachin Tendulkar runs full steam and flings himself to the ground to stop a ball from crossing the tape. The crowd roars. Watching from the stands among a host of celebs is the legendary Rajinikanth.

Everyone is charged. It was fitting that only a few balls after Tendulkar showed the boys how it is done, Yuvraj Singh had Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakarra caught behind two shy of his half century. This Indian team wants to win. 

Sangakkara fell at a time when the Sri Lankans were fairly cruising with half their innings gone. The last batsman to get out, Tillakaratne Dilshan, was bowled by Harbhajan Singh about 10 overs before. A collective cheer went up in all of India as Sri Lanka's most prolific batsman of the tournament headed back to the pavilion. (In Pictures: India vs Sri Lanka)

The Wankhede pitch curator said before the start of the match that the quicker bowlers would get movement early on and the spinners would play a big role as the ball got old. The Indian bowling has played to that script. (Read: Live Blog)

After skipper MS Dhoni used his seamers in Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel to contain Sri Lanka in the power plays, he has had Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh bowl in tandem to keep the batsmen from striking out big. And take a wicket apiece. (Post your comment for Team India)

India had got an early breakthrough breaking up the tournament's most successful opening pair when a seventh-over Zaheer Khan delivery found the outside edge of Upul Tharanga's bat. Virender Sehwag completed a diving catch at the first slip. (Read: Superb Zaheer buries the ghost of 4 years ago)

Double toss and Celeb Watching
 
The final toss of the 2011 World Cup was won by Sri Lanka and Sangakkara opted to bat first. The toss had to be done twice as Indian skipper MS Dhoni's call could not be heard because of the noise at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. (Read: Coin tossed twice in final)

Some more goosebump moments as the Men in Blue, a packed stadium and an entire nation in homes and restaurants and even outside shops stood as a man and sang the national anthem. Among a host of celebrities at the stadium - Nita Ambani and Aamir Khan standing side by side along with spouse Kiran Rao and Mukesh Ambani, BJP patriarch LK Advani, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa too is watching the match live at the Wankhede. Bollywood celebs like Ranbir Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta are dotting the stands. Finally spotted, Rajnikant. (In Pictures: Aamir, Mukesh, Nita at Final)

S Sreesanth has come in to replace Ashish Nehra as India's second opening bowler. Muttiah Muralitharan is playing for the Lankans for one last time and Kapugedera comes in for Chamara Silva. Suraj Randiv also gets to play this match. (Read: Muttiah Muralitharan included in playing XI)

Teams

India: Virender Shewag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth.

Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (c), Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chamara Kapugedera and Thisara Perera.

Scorecentre

Pitch report: The pitch at the Wankhede stadium has been relaid, has red soil and has been rolled evenly. Once the ball gets older, batsmen can look to seize advantage but will need to set their eyes in. Spinners will have a big role to play according to pitch curator Sudhir Naik and he reckons a target in excess of 260 is possible and will be challenging for the team batting second. Dew too, is likely to play a part towards the evening. It is expected to be a sporting track though. (Read: Determined Sri Lanka watched Team Dhoni practice)