Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's ice-cool finishing failed at the last hurdle as Tuesday's ODI tri-series clash between India and Sri Lanka ended in a tie.

Requiring a boundary off the final ball of the match, the swashbuckling Dhoni could only swipe Lasith Malinga's fullish delivery to deep cover, where Sachithra Senanayake put in a superb diving stop to prevent the winning run.

For the deadlock, the Sri Lankans remain alive, albeit marginally, in the three-nation competition, while the Indians are not yet assured of facing Australia in the final.

Besides Gautam Gambhir's ongoing stretch of fine form and prior to Dhoni's arrival at the crease, there was little substance to India's chase. Sachin Tendulkar couldn't handle Nuwan Kulasekara's lateral movement off the seam, Virat Kohli was trapped lbw dead enough in front of the stumps to warrant the umpire's finger and Rohit Sharma fell prey to one of seven run-outs in the match.

At 118 for four in pursuit of 237, Dhoni's men were crying out for a captain's knock and the charismatic right-hander duly delivered. Proving the perfect foil to Gambhir, who was closing in on three figures, Dhoni again displayed arguably the finest finishing skills in the modern-day game across measure laced with aggression.

While left to lament his rogue part in the run-out of Gambhir, who departed in the 90s for a second game on the trot, the Indian skipper knew full well that the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and the tail-enders would need shepherding if India were to triumph.

Kumar Sangakkara grassing an easy catch offered by Ashwin certainly aided India's cause, but with the asking rate climbing at a heavy rate, Dhoni's wicket was always going to be key to Sri Lanka's bid for a first win in the contest.

It never arrived, with Malinga, afforded plenty of time at the non-striker's stumps by rocket-like return throws from the deep, instead fumbling to run-out opportunities in the closing throes of the match. Had he held on, Sri Lanka surely would've won. Instead, the humdinger was taken to its final delivery, where only Senanayake's one-handed swat was enough to prevent a disappointed Dhoni from stealing the show entirely.

Earlier Dinesh Chandimal's fighting 81 gave Sri Lanka something to bowl at on a dry Adelaide pitch.

Sri Lanka dominated the middle overs, with Chandimal and Mahela Jayawardene putting on 94 in 17 overs, but the Powerplays continued to trouble them and their performances in the two five-over spells were ultimately the difference between a passable total and a formidable one.

As well as losing both openers in the first 10 overs of the innings, Sri Lanka's score in the bowling and batting Powerplays combined was 34 for four.

Once again their batsmen were guilty of not making the most of their opportunities after they had got themselves in, with Sangakkara (31) and Jayawardene (43) as guilty as half-centurion Chandimal.

Nevertheless batting first was seen as a fair advantage since the game was being played on the same pitch as Sunday's thriller, with a hot, dry day expected to take its toll on a tacky surface.

Sri Lanka lost Upul Tharanga to the second ball of the day when he tamely edged Vinay Kumar's delivery to Dhoni, and they were 28 for two when Tillakaratne Dilshan's patience ran out and a wild flay brought an under-edge off Irfan Pathan, who played his first game of the tournament.

Sangakkara and Chandimal rebuilt the innings with a 51-run partnership, before Sangakkara's frustration at being unable to hit Ashwin for singles in the Powerplay boiled over and he slashed to point.

Chandimal retained the aggressor's role and found good support in Jayawardene, and the pair found runs easy to come by as India's spinners whirled their way through the middle overs.

Somewhat inevitably, however, the batting Powerplay was to end the partnership when Jayawardene missed the straight one from Vinay and was trapped plumb in front, and Chandimal chucked his wicket away in the following over when he was called through for a needless single by Angelo Mathews and forgot to dive.

Mathews failed to fire in the closing stages, but Senanayake's unbeaten 22 from 14 balls ensured that Sri Lanka went to the dinner break with a middling score next to their name.

Friday brings the next game of the tournmanent, with Australia and Sri Lanka locking horns in Sydney.