Saturday, August 30 2008 -- In the fifth and final match of the ODI series between India and Sri Lanka played on 29th August, 2008 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka won the match by 112 runs by hunting the Indians down who were chasing a revised target of 214 runs in 44 overs. India had already won the series by winning the last match and leading the 5 match series with 3 consecutive wins.

After winning the toss, the Sri Lankans chose to bat and lost ace batsman Sanath Jayasuriya in the second over. Warnapura and Udawatte held the fort for a while however the middle over crumbled to the attack by PP Ojha who claimed two wickets. It was once again Thilan Thushara who is a fast bowler by profession but has all the looks of an all rounder, who helped Sri Lanka post a respectable total of 227 runs. Thushara hit 6 boundaries scoring 54 runs in 46 balls. The Indian looked comfortable even though they kept loosing wickets at regular intervals until the match was held due to rains. Resuming play after rains on a wet ground, the Indians collapsed with single digits to Kulasekara (4/40), Mendis (4/10) and Fernando (2/24). India were all out for 103 runs in 26.3 overs.

Dhoni who seemed composed even after a loss which saw them scoring their lowest in Sri Lanka was happy with the team’s effort throughout the series. He said, “If you get a start and the rest bat around you, you get a chance to put up a big score. If we win series like this we can afford to carry the players who aren't in form. You know what they're capable of and they've paid dividends in the past. But you cannot rely on one individual”.

About winning the series, Dhoni said, “If this was the last game of the series, tied 2-2, and we lost people would start saying that 'in the last 23 finals India have lost 18', but neither this team nor I have played 23 finals. It was crucial we finish the series before reaching this game”.