DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka (AP) — Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss Thursday and elected to bat first in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla Stadium.
India, looking to end an Asia Cup title drought of 15 years, made two changes. It brought back offspinner Harbhajan Singh and seamer Ashish Nehra for Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda who played in the last league match against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka brought back its seniors Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara, all three of whom were rested for the last match. It also went with the seasoned Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of Suraj Randiv while Farveez Maharoof, who took five wickets in the dress rehearsal for the final, retained his place.
Thilina Kandamby, too, stayed in ahead of Thilan Samaraweera.
Sri Lanka is looking for its third successive title, after wins in 2004 and 2008.
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Lineups:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.
Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara(captain/wicketkeeper), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thilina Kandamby, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga.
Umpires: Billy Bowden, New Zealand and Billy Doctrove, West Indies.
TV umpire: Ahsan Raza, Pakistan. Match Referee: Andy Pycroft, Zimbabwe.
