Champions Trophy: England to play India in final after Sri Lanka are emphatically beaten

India won by eight wickets in Cardiff

India's Shikhar Dhawan batting during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy semi-final cricket match between India and Sri Lanka at the Cardiff Wales Stadium in Cardiff (GETTY IMAGES)

India booked a Champions Trophy final appointment with England by easing to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka never really got going from a slow start as some excellent bowling from Ishant Sharma (three for 33), Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (one for 18) and Umesh Yadav restricted their batsmen.

Only captain Angelo Mathews (51) and Mahela Jayawardene (38) ever really appeared comfortable at the crease, and a total of 181 for eight never looked like being enough.

Any question marks about the level of difficulty faced by batsmen in the damp and overcast conditions were quickly answered by India openers Shikhar Dhawan (68) and Rohit Sharma (33), who played far more positively than their Sri Lanka counterparts.

Dhawan was given two lives on 18, when Mathews and Sangakkara shelled chances off Nuwan Kulasekara's bowling, as the pair put on an opening-wicket stand of 77 before Sharma was bowled by Mathews.

Dhawan's excellent knock ended with victory in sight as he was stumped off Jeevan Mendis' bowling, leaving Virat Kohli (58) and Suresh Raina (seven) to complete the task with 15 overs remaining and secure a repeat of their 2011 World Cup final win over Sri Lanka.

PA