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India beat Sri Lanka in last one-dayer, seals series 6-1

    Baroda: Floating on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's cracking form, India once again registered an emphatic win over Sri Lanka by beating them by five wickets in the final one-dayer here to win the seven-match one-day series 6-1. Chasing a target of 245, Man of the Series Dhoni led the run with a 73-ball 80, which included three sixes and nine boundaries, to seal the series with over 10 overs to spare. Earlier in the morning, Sri Lanka won the toss chose to bat. However, Marvan Atapattu's decision soon proved to be a wrong one as at one stage the tourists looked as they would not even cross 150 when they slumped to 85 for 5. But skipper Atapattu (59) and Russel Arnold (68) scored 133 runs together for the sixth wicket to set a decent target for the Indians. In reply, India got up to a quick start with vice-captain Virender Sehwag scoring quick-fire 35 of 24 balls, including six fours. Going for kill, Indian team management sent local boy Irphan Pathan after Sehwag's wicket, who true to his form scored 35 of 23 balls, hitting four boundaries and two shots over the fence. After Pathan's departure, captain Rahul Dravid (31 not out) along with Dhoni, who fell five short of victory, took the team home. Wicket-keeper Dhoni was named the Man of the Series for his devastating form in the series, while Pathan was awarded the Man of the Match for his all-round performance. Brief scores: India 245 for 5 (Dhoni 80, Tendulkar 39, Zoysa 47 for two) beat Sri Lanka 244 for 9 (Arnold 68, Atapattu 59, RP Singh 33 for three, Pathan 38 for three) by 5 wickets.