It was a face-off of the gladiatorial kind. The world's foremost death overs paceman against a feared finisher. It was Lasith Malinga versus Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the Adelaide Oval. India required four runs off the last ball. Malinga, his mane gleaming under the lights, steamed in. Dhoni settled into his stance. The crowd held its breath.

The Sri Lankan's thunderbolt was full and outside off. Dhoni, with an acrobatic one-legged slash, fired the ball over cover. The Indian captain and last man Umesh Yadav ran three amid tension, suspense and hectic Sri Lankan fielding. The match ended in a nerve-jangling tie. Dhoni, sweat streaming down his visage, was once again India's savior in the climactic stages. Man of the Match he was.

The Commonwealth Bank ODI series threw up one more thriller here on Tuesday. Both teams finished with identical scores – 236 for nine. India now has ten points from four matches and Sri Lanka two from three. Skipper Dhoni, unbeaten on a 69-ball 58, walked back with a wry smile.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who set up the chase for India, continued his fine form with a 106-ball 91. One never knows what might have been had the 30th over of the innings – sent down by Malinga – not been a five-ball one. The match twisted and turned going into the final stretch. India needed 24 from the last two overs. Irfan Pathan swung a full toss from seamer Angelo Mathews for a six before being run-out by the bowler.

Then, Dhoni thwacked the bowler past the mid-wicket ropes to reach his half-century. India took 15 from the 49th over and required nine from the final one. The over built up towards an edge-of-the-seat finish. Vinay Kumar was run-out by Mathews, finding the target from mid-off from the fifth delivery. Then came the game's final act.

The players had felt the pressure as the game neared conclusion. Even experienced men made mistake. Sangakkara, with the big gloves on, grassed a skier from Ravichandran Ashwin. The Indians ran two for the stroke. But then, paceman's Thisara Perera putting down a return catch off Dhoni when the Indian captain was on 10 proved a lot more expensive for the Sri Lankans.

The Sri Lankans fought hard. Mahela Jayawardene shuffled his bowlers around cleverly, kept a single-denying field to build pressure, and saved Malinga for the last. The Sri Lankans never lost belief and there was some assistance for the bowlers – some movement and spin – from the surface. The crafty Rangana Herath impressed with his left-arm spin.

The dismissal of a well-set Gambhir was the turning point. Dhoni and Gambhir had added 60 runs for the fifth wicket when India ran into a truckload of problems. Dhoni pushed Malinga to mid-on, stopped after initially setting out for a run, and Gambhir was stranded at the non-striker's end with Kulasekara hitting the stumps.

Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar – Virender Sehwag sat out of the game with a back spasm – nicked an attempted drive off Nuwan Kulasekara early on. The Indians lost wickets at regular intervals. Virat Kohli played across to an off-cutter from seamer Thisara Perera. Mahela Jayawardene scored a terrific direct hit from point to end Rohit Sharma's tenure.

And Suresh Raina, unable to time his glance off Malinga, was splendidly taken on the leg-side by a diving Sangakkara. Meanwhile, Gambhir batted with balance and poise. He was light on his feet and heavy with his strokes. The southpaw cover-drove with a still head. With dexterous wrists, he whipped the ball into the open spaces. When Malinga bounced, Gambhir pulled. When Rangana Herath flighted, he split the off-side field with a front-footed drive.

Dhoni has this ability to pick runs unnoticed before he launches into the big blows. The Indian skipper picks his moments to strike, possesses a calm head that weighs options. Dhoni's six over wide long-on off Perera was a massive blow. The Sri Lankan innings revolved around a fine 91-ball 81 from Dinesh Chandimal. He used his feet and found the gaps. He rocked back to cut and pull, jumped out to either strike the ball over the infield or drive it between the fielders or simply worked it around for the singles.

The 94-run fourth-wicket partnership – in 100 balls – between Chandimal and Mahela Jayawardene powered Sri Lanka before the side lost momentum. Jayawardene (43), rediscovering form, played with soft hands and sure footwork. The Sri Lankans, however, turned powerless in the batting Power Play. The five overs – between overs 36 and 40 – fetched the Sri Lankans just 18 runs while they lost three wickets.

Mahela Jayawardene perished trying to turn a off-cutter from Vinay Kumar, Chandimal was done in by Rohit Sharma's quick release to Dhoni from short cover and Perera walked back after attempting to slog Ravichandran Ashwin. Sri Lanka had surrendered advantage.

Earlier, the consistent Vinay Kumar found the edge of Upul Tharanga's bat with a back-of-a-length ball that seamed away. The steady Irfan Pathan – in the team because Zaheer Khan was nursing a strained right calf – removed Tillakaratne Dilshan when the batsman under-edged a drive. Off-spinner Ashwin bowled capably. The off-spinner took out Kumar Sangakkara, stroking the ball, fluently, with a teasing delivery that spun away from the left-hander.

Scoreboard: Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga c Dhoni b Vinay Kumar 0 (2b), T. Dilshan c Dhoni b Pathan 16 (23b, 1x4, 1x6), K. Sangakkara c Gambhir b Ashwin 31 (56b, 2x4), D. Chandimal (run out) 81 (91b, 6x4, 1x6), M. Jayawardene lbw b Vinay Kumar 43 (49b, 2x4), A. Mathews (run out) 17 (30b, 1x4), T. Perera c Kohli b Ashwin 5 (9b), N. Kulasekara c Gambhir b Vinay Kumar 12 (25b), S. Senanayake (not out) 22 (14b, 3x4), L. Malinga (run out) 0 (0b), R. Herath (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-3, w-5): 8, Total (for nine wkts. in 50 overs): 236.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Tharanga), 2-28 (Dilshan), 3-79 (Sangakkara), 4-173 (Jayawardene), 5-178 (Chandimal), 6-184 (Perera), 7-210 (Mathews), 8-232 (Kulasekara), 9-235 (Malinga). India bowling: Vinay Kumar 10-1-46-3, Pathan 9-0-38-1, Yadav 9-0-51-0, Ashwin 10-1-30-2, Jadeja 10-0-58-0, Rohit 2-0-10-0.

India: G. Gambhir (run out) 91 (106b, 6x4), S. Tendulkar c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 15 (24b, 2x4), V. Kohli lbw b Perera 15 (25b, 1x4), Rohit (run out) 15 (27b, 2x4), S. Raina c Sangakkara b Malinga 8 (19b), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 58 (69b, 3x4, 1x6), R. Jadeja c Jayawardene b Perera 3 (10b), R. Ashwin c Senanayake b Malinga 14 (13b, 1x4), Irfan (run out) 8 (5b, 1x6), Vinay (run out) 1 (2b), U. Yadav (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-1, w-6, nb-1): 8; Total (for nine wkts. in 50 overs) 236.

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Tendulkar), 2-61 (Kohli), 3-94 (Rohit), 4-118 (Raina), 5-178 (Gambhir), 6-184 (Jadeja), 7-212 (Ashwin), 8-223 (Irfan), 9-233 (Vinay). Sri Lanka bowling: Malinga 10-1-53-2, Kulasekara 10-0-39-1, Mathews 5-0-35-0, Perera 9-0-45-2, Herath 10-1-33-0, Senanayake 6-0-30-0.