Harbhajan Singh after hitting the winning runs, a six off Mohammed Aamer, in Dambulla, on Saturday. (AP)

Dambulla: Harbhajan Singh did a Javed Miandad hitting a six to bring up the winning runs against Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Saturday. While Miandad had hit the runs off the final ball in the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final in Sharjah, Harbhajan blasted Mohammed Aamer for a huge six off the penultimate ball.

The Indians held their nerves in the final moments to snatch the sensational three-wicket victory that also ensured their final berth.

India will take on Sri Lanka in the June 24 final although before that both the teams will meet each other on June 22 in their final round-robin encounter.

With two defeats out of as many matches, Pakistan crashed out of the tournament along with Bangladesh and will face each other in another inconsequential match on Monday.

Harbhajan Singh (15 not out) turned out to be the hero at the Rangiri International Stadium as he not only picked up two crucial Pakistani wickets but also finished the proceedings in style.

Chasing 267 for victory, Gautam Gambhir (83 off 97) and Dhoni (56 off 71) scored half centuries, while Suresh Raina (34 off 27) and Harbhajan provided the firepower down the order to see India overwhelm the target convincingly with a ball to spare.

Earlier, Salman Butt (74) and Kamran Akmal (51) made contrasting half centuries before India made a remarkable comeback to bowl out Pakistan for 267.

Praveen Kumar (3/53), Zaheer Khan (2/41) and Harbhajan (2/47) were the pick of the Indian bowlers, sharing seven wickets between them. Ravindra Jadeja took the other wicket.

It was war minus the guns as two bitter rivals fought tooth and nail for supremacy. The fortunes fluctuated wildly with Pakistan dominating at two stages in the match and India coming back strongly twice.

India’s chase, however, started on a slow pace with attacking Virender Sehwag (10 off 32) finding runs hard to come by before edging one to Kamran Akmal off Abdul Razzaq.

Virat Kohli (18), too, fell cheaply, leaving it up to Gambhir and Dhoni to build the platform for the victory with the 98-run third-wicket stand.

Except for an ugly mid-wicket spat between Gambhir, who survived a close call for a catch behind the wicket off Saeed Ajmal, and Kamran Akmal, the game was a perfect boost which the ODI cricket needed, more so at a time when the Twenty20 format has stolen the thunder.

Gambhir and Dhoni mixed aggression with caution to slowly but assuredly take India towards their first victory against the arch-rivals in nine months.

The duo ran hard between the wickets, often converting ones into two to the chagrin of the Pakistani fielders. When the bowlers begged to be punished, they hit hard and clean, clinically bisecting to collect boundaries.

Gambhir, oozing with confidence from his 82 against Bangladesh, was the more adventurous of the duo, often stepping out of the crease to attack the spinners. He enjoyed a reprieve at 69 when Aamer spilled a simple offer at long off.

The left-handed opener had century for the asking, but chose to cast away the opportunity, losing his citadel as he made room to back cut Saeed Ajmal.

Dhoni seemed confident from the moment he walked into the simmering cauldron. He stoutly defended when the bowlers commanded respect, but smashed them with disdain when they faltered in line and length.(Agencies)