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India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni ran three on the last ball to force a tie with Sri Lanka in a tri-series thriller in Adelaide on Tuesday.

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Dhoni, needing four off the last ball from Lasith Malinga to reach the victory target of 237, slashed over cover but outfielder Upul Tharanga's diving save cut off the boundary and India also finished at 236-9.

Dhoni was unbeaten on 58, just failing to repeat his match-winning, last-over finish against Australia on the weekend.

It was the first tie between India and Sri Lanka in a limited-overs international.

India moved atop the Tri-series standings with 10 points, one clear of Australia. Sri Lanka remains winless in three matches, but picked up two points for the tie.

After losing Sachin Tendulkar for 15 early, India seemed to be coasting toward victory with Dhoni and opener Gautam Gambhir at the crease until a run out ended their 60-run partnership in the 41st over.

Gambhir was on 91 - following his 92 in the four-wicket win over Australia - when Dhoni pushed to mid-on, called for a single, then changed his mind. Gambir was stranded and India slipped to 178-5.

Dhoni continued with the tailenders and, after India scored 15 balls in the 49th over from Angelo Mathews, the World Cup champions needed nine from the last over.

Malinga held his composure and there were two run outs in the last over before Dhoni faced the final ball.

There were four run-outs in the Indian innings and seven in all for the match.

Earlier, Dinesh Chandimal scored 81 to lead the Sri Lankan innings before he also was run out. He shared vital partnerships with Kumar Sangakkara (31) - 51 for the third wicket - and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (43) - 94 for the fourth wicket - after Sri Lanka had slumped to 28-2 in the eighth over after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Teams:

India: SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir, V Kohli, SK Raina, RG Sharma, MS Dhoni (capt &wk), RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, R Vinay Kumar, U Yadav, IK Pathan

Sri Lanka: TM Dilshan, WU Tharanga, KC Sangakkara (wk), LD Chandimal, DPMD Jayawardene (capt), AD Mathews, NLTC Perera, KMDN Kulasekara, HMRKB Herath, SL Malinga, SMSM Senanayake