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NEW DELHI: India’s pace spearhead Zaheer Khan equalled Shahid Afridi as leading wicket-taker when Chamara Kapugedera became his 21st victim of the World Cup in the final at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.

India’s golden boy, Yuvraj Singh dismissed Thilan Samaraweera (21) to break the dangerous looking fourth wicket partnership with Jayawardene.

Mahela Jayawardene slammed his 57th one-day fifty to revive Sri Lanka innings against India. Jayawardene hit six boundaries to score run-a-ball fifty.

Yuvraj also dismissed Kumar Sangakkara (48) to halt Sri Lankan resurrection after Sangakkara added 62-run for third wicket with Jayawardene after losing their openers cheaply. Sanga slammed five fours in his 67-ball innings.

Sri Lanka lost both openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (33) and Upul Tharanga (2) cheaply after a slow start.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh clean bowled dangerous Dilshan, who has scored two hundreds in the World Cup, in the seventeenth over to reduce the Lankans to 60/2.

Dilshan was unusually slow for his standard as he took 49 balls for his 33 as he hit only three boundaries.

Zaheer Khan gave India first breakthrough as he got Upul Tharanga caught in the slip.

Zaheer bowled three maidens in a row then induced a false shot from the left-hander with the first ball of his fourth. Tharanga, who played 20 balls for his 2 runs, edged Zaheer in the 7th over and Virender Sehwag dived to his right to take a brilliant catch.

Sri Lanka lost their first wicket, with 17 runs on the board.

Earlier, Sri Lanka’s captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat against India.

India made one change from the side that beat Pakistan in the semifinal, bringing in fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in place of the injured Ashish Nehra.

Star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was declared fit to play despite niggling hamstring and knee injuries, but Sri Lanka made four changes after the semifinal against New Zealand.

Batsman Chamara Kapugedera, all-rounder Thisara Perera, off-spinner Suraj Randiv and seamer Nuwan Kulasekera replaced Chamara Silva, the injured Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis.

Randiv had only been called into the squad on Thursday as cover.

The toss had to take place twice after no one heard the call from Sangakkara first time around.

Teams batting first have won seven of the nine finals since the inaugural World Cup in 1975.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Suraj Randiv, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan.