India have withstood a sparkling 81 from Dinesh Chandimal to restrict Sri Lanka to 9-236 in their Commonwealth Bank Series clash at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
The impressive Chandimal rocketed along at close to a run-a-ball and received good support from skipper Mahela Jayawardene (43), but wickets at regular intervals from the Indians ensured the target would be a steady rather than imposing one.
Chandinal and Jayawardene combined for a spritely 94-run fourth-wicket stand, easily Sri Lanka's best period of their innings, before both departed eight balls apart to hand the impetus back to India.
Paceman Vinay Kumar (3-46 off 10 overs) and off-spinner Ravi Ashwin (2-30 off 10 overs) were the pick of the bowlers for India, who will need to score at 4.74 runs per over to pull off their second straight Adelaide run chase and go top of the Commonwealth Bank Series table.
Winless Sri Lanka are certainly not out of the contest, but Jayawardene certainly would have wished for a better launching pad after winning the toss and electing to bat in perfect, sunny conditions.
His side's innings got off to a nightmare start when Upul Tharanga was sent packing for a duck off just the second ball of the match.
The struggling opener, who has had a horror tour, limply fished outside off-stump to edge one to keeper MS Dhoni off Kumar, India's leading wicket-taker this series.
Tharanga, who has a fine overall ODI record, has scored just nine runs in three digs on this tour, all three times edging catches behind the wicket.
Experienced ex-captains Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara attempted to salvage a rescue mission but Dilshan's impetuous nature got the better of him.
After becoming the seventh Sri Lankan to score 6000 ODI runs upon reaching 16, Dilshan failed to add a further run when he bottom-edged a catch to Dhoni, attempting a wild slog off an in-ducker from the recalled Irfan Pathan.
Sangakkara departed for a cautious 31 when he charged a flighted Ashwin offering, which the veteran southpaw ill-advisedly tried to loft over mid-on, only to spoon a massive leading edge down Gautam Gambhir's throat at point.
The dismissal leaves Sangakkara just 11 runs shy of becoming the tenth man to reach the landmark milestone of 10,000 ODI runs.
Chandimal slog-swept Ravindra Jadeja over square leg for four and then raised his 50 (off 56 deliveries) the very next ball when he slashed Jadeja through the vacant slips region for three, as he and Jayawardene helped put Sri Lanka on top mid-innings.
Just when he was starting to look set and dangerous, Jayawardene was trapped in front by Kumar, before Chandimal departed in the next over, falling short of reaching both his crease and the ton he deserved.
When Angelo Mathews bunted Ashwin in front of short cover and set off for a suicide single, Chandimal scampered to the striker's end.
Rohit Sharma's quick under-arm to Dhoni was on the money and Chandimal was adjudged to be fractionally shy of his crease by third umpire Bruce Oxenford.
Chandimal's run out was pivotal and ultimately proved the difference between Sri Lanka posting what they did (236) or the 270 they threatened when the exciting 22-year-old was firing.
Two overs later Perera (five), faced with two slips and powerless to get the miserly Ashwin away, skied a frustrated heave straight to Virat Kohli at mid-off, as Sri Lanka lost 3-11.
Mathews (17), wastefully, became the second run out victim as he missed a full-toss from Pathan and wandered out of crease as he contemplated pinching a bye.
But before the in-form all-rounder barely had time to turn around, Dhoni's under-arm shy broke the stumps and Mathews was gone.
Nuwan Kulasekara (12) was Kumar's third victim when he thick-edged an attempted pull over mid-wicket from a slower ball in the final over, which was skied to Gambhir at point on the edge of the circle.
Lasith Malinga was run out without facing a ball as the Sri Lankans chased quick runs at the death, despite Sachithra Senanayake (22 not out off 14 balls) batting aggressively and enterprisingly in the final overs.