It was India who took the points but in the context of the tri-series as a whole, Australia were the winners here. Both India and Sri Lanka batted poorly, making a meal of a bouncy WACA pitch to suggest that neither are likely to trouble the hosts much over the coming weeks.

While India controlled the match for the majority of it, eventually claiming a four-wicket victory with 20 deliveries to spare, the lack of conviction in their run chase suggested that they will continue to struggle to match Australia.

Virat Kohli's class shone through and Sachin Tendulkar sparkled briefly, but their teammates often laboured against the short ball even if they collectively did enough to reach the 234 required to clinch game two of the Commonwealth Bank Series.

That it was mission accomplished came largely down to the contributions of offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Kohli, so it was distressing for them to see Kohli literally carried from the field after being run out for 77.

The right-hander had been battling some sort of cramp - probably hamstring - and it clearly hampered him in his pursuit of a quick single that saw him caught yards short of his ground. A long-term injury to their in-form batsman would be a big blow for India.

Negativity aside, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side will point to the depth of their batting as a key strength and it was probably what made the difference in this match.

While Sri Lanka batted with a caginess that suggested they had no faith in the lower order to pull them through, India were taken to victory by an unbroken 53-run stand between numbers seven and eight, as Jadeja (24) and Ashwin (30) held their nerve after the middle order did their best to gift the game away.

Tendulkar and Kohli had put on a breezy 75 for the second wicket which suggested the chase would be as simple as the modest target demanded, but when Tendulkar played on for 48 things began to unravel. Rohit Sharma slapped a short ball to backward point, where Tillakaratne Dilshan snatched a blinder, Suresh Raina and Dhoni both fell to the short ball and Kohli was run out.

Yet as admirable as Sri Lanka's fightback was, they didn't have enough runs to protect against another Indian surge and so Ashwin and Jadeja ensured that there would be no close finish, even if the victory was not as convincing as it could have been.

Man of the match Ashwin's canny variations had been the thorn in Sri Lanka's side as they could manage no more than 233 for eight after winning the toss and electing to bat.

An excellent Perth pitch provided something for everyone, with Dilshan threatening early on but ultimately getting pegged back by the offspinner and Zaheer Khan, as India's bowlers made the most of conditions that offered both seam and bounce.

Dinesh Chandimal's half-century proved as good as it got for Sri Lanka, but even that was a stop-start affair as his 64 came off 81 deliveries.

Upul Tharanga's early dismissal was countered by a strong partnership between Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara that saw them put on 62 in 14 overs.

However Ashwin's first over was a maiden, and when Sangakkara was brilliantly caught behind by Dhoni off the bowling of Zaheer in the very next over, Sri Lanka found themselves playing catch-up cricket - something which lasted the rest of the afternoon and evening.

The batting powerplay brought just 11 runs as well as the Sangakkara wicket, and a lazy shot from Dilshan soon after undid all the hard work that had taken him to 48.

The dismissals ensured that Mahela Jayawardene's side were continually in a rebuilding phase, and the sequence continued when Jayawardene himself and Thisara Perera both fell to the wiles of Ashwin.

Despite Chandimal's best efforts the batting powerplay would only bring 23 runs and a couple of wickets as tight Indian bowling never allowed Sri Lanka to break free.

Chandimal was largely resorting to wild heaves to the leg side, and the tactic finally caught up with him in the 44th over of the innings when Dhoni completed a remarkable stumping.

Chandimal had advanced down the wicket, but the ball deflected off pad onto Dhoni's leg before bouncing towards his armpit. The wicketkeeper had the presence of mind to grasp the ball, then remove the bails with one hand with Chandimal (64) still yards out of his crease.

Angelo Mathews' unbeaten 33 from 28 balls at the tail of the knock lifted Sri Lanka to a somewhat respectable total, but it was at least a couple dozen short of what many regarded as a par score and ultimately wasn't enough.