Farveez Maharoof enjoys the breaks

Three wickets for 19 runs stalled India's start, and then Farveez Maharoof's hat-trick, during a period of play when four wickets fell for no runs, destroyed the middle order's efforts at rebuilding the innings. Thrice India seemed to have inched ahead of the game, thrice a spirited Sri Lanka pulled them back through superb fielding and persistent bowling.

Having put India in, to try batting under lights in case they need to in the final, Sri Lanka soon realised they needed to take the pace off their bowling. With Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga rested, Maharoof tied the openers down with their cutters.

After a special catch from Suraj Randiv removed Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli got a good delivery from Maharoof, one that held its line outside off and took the edge.

By the time Maharoof came back for the decisive spell, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma had engineered a recovery for India. Maharoof hasn't enjoyed the best of luck in the Asia Cup, his comeback tournament. He was hit for two sixes by Shahid Afridi, after which he bowled superb cutters and seamers without any result. His first spell today had been similar. He troubled both the openers, but that edge kept eluding him. His luck was about to change when he was brought back in the 37th over.

In his second over, Maharoof was gifted an lbw by Ravindra Jadeja, who walked right across the stumps and didn't quite know what he was trying. That was one ball after Dhoni's run-out. Next came Praveen Kumar, who looked to fend a shortish delivery and played it on. Zaheer perhaps got the best of the hat-trick deliveries, one just back of a length, close enough to off to make a tailender play and edge. Sangakkara dived to his right to take a one-handed catch. India had imploded from 189 for 4 to 189 for 8 in four deliveries.

Ashok Dinda didn't use his brain and kept slogging at Maharoof repeatedly before finally exposing all three stumps and giving Maharoof the five-for. Given his rotten luck earlier in the tournament, Maharoof perhaps deserved the breaks.