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NEWS Tri-Nation Tournament in Sri Lanka> Lankan media hails national team for winning the Tri-Series 10th Aug 2005  22.23 IST By Agencies   Describing them as ''masters of strangulation'', the Sri Lankan media today showered praises on the cricketers for their ''sensational'' victory over India in the final of the Tri-Series on Tuesday night. The State-run ''Daily News'' described how ''Lanka choke India to win IOC final.'' ''Sri Lanka once again emphasised that they are the masters of strangulation when they gradually cut off India's air supply to win the Indian Oil Cup one-day tri-nation final...'' said the daily. Pointing out Virender Sehwag -- who scored 48 runs off just 22 balls last night -- had given the visitors a ''thunderous start'', the daily praised senior bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan for helping the team recover ''...from the initial assault to gradually choke the rest of the batting.'' Admitting ''India at one stage looked on course to mount a late assault on the Sri Lankan bowling at 186-2 with 15 overs remaining'', the daily said quick dismissals of Yuvraj Singh and skipper Rahul Dravid took the game away from the visitors. The daily also hailed the trio of Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold for contributing ''more than 75 per cent of the total.'' It also singled out Jayasuriya, who completed his 10,000 ODI runs yesterday. ''Jayasuriya played a destructive innings that saw him at his best in tense situations. Over the years it seems he has got mentally strong and with the years of experience he pulled Sri Lanka out of a tight corner,'' it said. The daily also pointed out that India's ploy of fielding five bowlers did not suit their purpose. The Island, an independent daily, described the summit clash as a ''tense final'' and praised ''deadly Indian opener Virender Sehwag'' for his ''breathtaking 48''. The daily went on to describe how the 30,000 strong cricket crazy people defied a transport strike and made the final ''probably one of the biggest crowds seen in a Sri Lankan venue. '' Also View In-Depth Coverage: Tri-Nation Tournament in Sri Lanka Team Page: India Team Page: Sri Lanka

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