Live streamed royal wedding reigns on the Web

The four-hour live Internet coverage included the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the procession to Buckingham Palace, and the newlyweds' appearance on the palace balcony and their first public kiss.

Prince William and Kate Middleton may have had a traditional wedding, but the Internet traffic that accompanied the ceremony was something very new for the royal family.

Millions followed the affair in live streams on their computers, all the while commenting on social media sites. Among the many outlets webcasting the event was the royal family itself, whose YouTube page offered live video and tweets from Clarence House, the prince’s official residence.

Akamai Technologies, which delivers about 20 per cent of the world’s Internet traffic, said that global page views for the roughly 100 news portals for which it delivers content peaked at nearly 5.4 million a minute on Friday morning. That was good enough for the sixth largest amount of traffic ever, but well shy of the record of 10.4 million page views a minute set last June 24 during the 2010 World Cup.

Still, those numbers were very high considering that the wedding was so ubiquitous on TV and that it occurred (unlike the World Cup record day) when many people in North American and the United Kingdom were not at work, where computer-viewing is often a necessity. Friday was a national holiday for the U.K., and the ceremony took place early morning in the U.S.

There was some evidence, though, that the wedding may have been live-streamed in record numbers. Because it was streamed on so many outlets, a total figure was hard to come by. Akamai said that based on the approximately 25 broadcasters for which it delivered streams; the highest viewer count exceeded that of the World Cup traffic it supported.

Livestream, which partnered with The Associated Press, UK Press Association, CBS and Entertainment Tonight for its live stream, said it surpassed its own record with, at one point, more than 300,000 concurrent live streams.

Yahoo said it experienced its largest traffic for a live video event, surpassing its audience for Michael Jackson’s funeral by 21 percent.

The royal wedding was streamed by, among others, CNN.com, NBC’s “Today Show” website and Fox (by way of Hulu). ABC streamed its coverage on Hulu and on Yahoo. CBS, PBS and ET also streamed the event on Ustream. E! streamed its coverage on Facebook.

Facebook said that more than 6.8 million people globally commented on the wedding through public status updates within the past 24 hours, as of Friday afternoon. On the social media site in the U.K., David Beckham’s arrival prompted one of the largest surges in discussion with 9,000 mentions of his name in 20 minutes.

All the traffic caused some problems.

Web performance site AlertSite monitored 15 sites during the wedding. It found that while YouTube’s homepage had 100 percent availability, the Royal wedding channel had 74 percent availability and slower response time. The highest amount of response time, of the sites surveyed by AlertSite, came from AccessHollywood.com, ABCNews.com and BBC.com.

The BBC said in a statement that it was “experiencing some technical issues with BBC Online due to the sheer weight of traffic which may cause the site to be slower than normal in some cases.”

The wedding day online audience was a culmination of rising Web traffic. There were 2.1 million tweets about the wedding over the last week. Google said that in the month of April, searches for “royal wedding” increased 90 percent. On April 25, searches on Google for “Kate Middleton” overtook those for “Lady Gaga.” And on eBay, some 3,000 items related to the wedding were sold in April.

Harry Potter 7.2- makes some shock

The "Harry Potter" film series has become the most successful movie franchise of all time, with a combined worldwide box-office total of over $6.3 billion worldwide. So it should be no surprise that the eighth and final installment, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" will be going out with a bang. But if you pay close attention to the just-released trailer -- and you haven't read the book -- you could be in for a big shock.

When the filmmakers decided to divide "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the final installment in J.K. Rowling's phenomenal series -- into two movies, they made a conscious choice to not to just split it down the middle. They wanted to craft separate films where each had its own style and tone. "Part 1," which hit theaters in November of 2010, was fundamentally a road movie with Harry, Hermoine and Ron on a quest out in the world. "Part 2," on the other hand, will be an all-out action flick, as Lord Voldemort leads his Death Eaters in an assault on Hogwarts with the fate of the world at stake.

By the looks of the trailer, the movie is going to be epic indeed. It's got dragons, knights, snakes, plumes of fire, collapsing bridges, and, of course, massive armies of battling wizards. But there are also shots of some of the pain and heartbreak in the final chapter as well. As readers of the novel know, beloved characters -- even some who have been part of the story since the very beginning -- do not survive the massive battle. And if you're quick enough to catch it, you can see one in the preview.

Julie Walters and Rupert Grint At the 1:02 mark, there is a shot of Ron Weasley (played by Rupert Grint) and his mother Molly (Julie Walters) in tears. They are huddled over a fallen body, and upon close inspection you can tell that it is Ron's brother Fred (James Phelps), one half of the Weasley twins.

In the book, Fred and his other brother Percy are defending Hogwarts from Death Eaters invading through secret passageways. There is an explosion, and Fred's body is later discovered in the rubble. It's a devastating loss, both because Fred is only 20 years old, but also because of the impact it has on his twin brother George.

Certainly, this doesn't come as a surprise to readers of the novel, and there are plenty of those. "Deathly Hallows" broke sales records when it hit shelves in 2007, selling eight million copies in the U.S. in just the first 24 hours. It's gone on to sell over 400 million copies worldwide. Still, there are plenty of fans of the movie series who have read a single one of the books.

But even for the most ardent fans of the book, there should still be some surprises in the last movie. The biggest may be in the very last scene, which takes place 20 years later. Originally, the last scene was shot on location at King's Cross station in London, and some paparazzi photos did catch the cast made up to look decades older. But Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson confirmed to HitFix last November that they were going back to shoot more footage for the film's epilogue.

We'll all get to see the final product when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" opens on July 15.

Nadal won Monte Carlo

DREAM RUN:Rafael Nadal made short work of David Ferrer in the final.

MONACO: Rafael Nadal beat fourth-seeded David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday to win his seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters tennis title.

The top-ranked Spaniard chalked up his 37th straight win at the clay-court event, where he has not lost since 2003.

It was his 44th career title and 19th at a Masters event.

Nadal had lost his three previous career finals, twice to second-ranked Novak Djokovic, and once to No. 3 Roger Federer. It was the 24-year-old's first title since winning the Japan Open last October.

Guillermo Coria was the last player to beat Nadal at Monte Carlo, in the third round in 2003. Nadal missed the 2004 tournament through injury.

The results: Final: Singles: Rafael Nadal bt David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5. Doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan bt Juan Ignacio Chela and Bruno Soares 6-3, 6-2 .

Sania-Vesnina lifts title in Charleston

Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina clinched their second WTA title together, lifting the Family Circle Cup doubles trophy with a straight-set triumph over Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy here.

The unseeded Indo-Russian pair beat the fourth seeds 6-4 6-4 in what was a repeat of the Indian Wells final three weeks ago in which Sania and Vesnina had come out victors.

Sania and Vesnina held off late surges from the Americans, managing to grab the first set after letting a 5-1 lead close to 5-4.

The second set followed a similar script as Sania and Vesnina let a 4-0 lead close to 4-4. But Vesnina fired a forehand winner to seal it for the pair.

This was Sania and Vesnina’s fifth event together.

They began with back-to-back quarterfinals at Dubai and Doha before winning the Indian Wells but fell early in Miami.

In Charleston, Sania won her 11th WTA doubles title, while Vesnina lifted her fifth.

“It helps we get along so well. If either one of us isn’t playing well, you don’t get angry at your friends. We’ve known each other for really long. We play better every day and understand each other’s games better. When the other one isn’t playing as well, the other picks it up,” Sania said.

“I think Sania has the best forehand on the tour. I see the eyes of the net player who’s guarding the ball from her forehand. They’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, no, the Mirza forehand!’” added Vesnina.

Sania was also lavish in her praise for the Russian, who lost the singles final to Caroline Wozniacki.

“Elena has a lethal backhand and the forehand is my strong shot. Opponents run out of ideas what to do, considering they have only half the court to play in,” Sania said.

“I think we’ve improved our volleys and are more confident too. With confidence you start to poach more and do stuff normal doubles players do. And since we’re so heavy off the ground, it’s easier for the player at net,” she added.

Djokovic wins Nadal on Miami Masters

Novak Djokovic did it again on Sunday, defeating World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) to win the ATP Miami Masters crown and remain unbeaten in 2011.

Djokovic has now won all 24 matches he has played this year, the best start to a season since Ivan Lendl began 1986 25-0.

The Serbian, ranked second in the world, has captured four titles, including the Australian Open, Dubai and, now, back-to-back elite Masters titles at Indian Wells and Miami, both with victories over Nadal in the finals.

“It's the best four months in my life, but it's only the start of the season,” said Djokovic, who will remain at No. 2 behind Nadal for the time being, even though the Spaniard hasn't won since Tokyo in October.

“It's a bit early to talk about getting that top spot in the rankings,” Djokovic said. “Rafa is definitely the best player in the world now. If I want to have the No. 1 ranking, I need to play consistently well throughout the whole year.”

As in the championship match at Indian Wells a fortnight earlier, Djokovic surrendered the first set to Nadal.

Slugfest

But after a slugfest lasting almost 3-1/2 hours on a steamy stadium court it was Djokovic who emerged the victor, blasting a forehand cross court for the victory on his third match point.

Any fatigue he might have been feeling disappeared with the victory, as Djokovic jumped for joy and an exhausted Nadal headed to his courtside chair.

“What he's doing is unbelievable,” Nadal said. “First thing, he's very good. Second thing, he's playing with big confidence.

“The easiest thing to say: He's a very good tennis player.”

But Djokovic, who had painted himself as the underdog going in, said he was never sure of the outcome until he had sealed the victory.

“It was such a close match,” Djokovic said. “To win against the No. 1 player of the world in a tiebreak in the third set, it's just incredible.”

Djokovic added a second Miami title to the one he captured in 2007. And he joined Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras as the only players to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami — the three most important early-season events — in the same year. Nadal seized the early advantage with a break for a 2-1 lead in the opening set — the first time Djokovic had been broken in the tournament.

Nadal broke Djokovic again for a 4-1 lead, but surrendered his own serve while serving for the set in the eighth game.

Two games later, after nearly an hour, Nadal secured the first set.

Djokovic drew first blood in the second, breaking for a 2-0 lead. Despite moments of frustration — including a testy bounce of his racquet after allowing Nadal a break chance — Djokovic held on to claim the second set with an ace.

Both players held throughout the final set, although Nadal applied some pressure when he pushed Djokovic to 15-30 in the final game before Djokovic held on to force the tie-breaker.

The momentum swung Djokovic's way when Nadal delivered his sixth double-fault of the match to fall behind 3-2 in the tie-breaker.

Djokovic won the next three points, giving himself a 6-2 lead and three championship points with a backhand down the line.

On a day when the long rallies left both players panting and Nadal repeatedly changed his sweat-soaked shirt, endurance as well as skill was crucial.

“It was obvious that both of us were slowing down towards the end,” Djokovic said. “In the tie-break, it was really anybody's game. Until the last shot, I didn't know if I was going to win or not.”

Nadal finished runner-up in Miami for the third time after falling in the final in 2005 and 2008.

“Maybe I was a little bit more nervous than other days,” Nadal admitted. “Maybe because I never won here, and this is the third chance.”

Although he wasn't happy with the outcome, Nadal couldn't be unhappy with his effort. “Nothing left in my body right now,” Nadal said. “I love these kinds of matches. For sure I love to win, not lose.”

Paes-Bhupathi duo wins title, becomes No. 1

Adding to the joy of India's cricket World Cup triumph, veteran tennis players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won their second title of the season by clinching the Sony Ericsson Open here to become No. 1 in the ATP World Tour doubles team rankings.

Third-seeded Bhupathi and Paes rallied to beat the second seeded Belarusian-Canadian pair of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-5.

Paes had, in fact won the title even last year with Lukas Dlouhy but for Bhupathi it was his first career title at Crandon Park.

Key to success

“The key (to us winning) was just fighting as a team. Like Leander said, we didn't play our best match of the week. All four of us were tentative in the beginning,” Bhupathi said.

The ‘Indian Express' was up 6-5 in the first set but let it slip by conceding a break and never had a lead in the tie-break.

“We had a chance to win that set but we didn't take it — threw away the breaker pretty much,” Bhupathi said.

Bhupathi and Paes found their rhythm in the second set and were also helped by a double fault by Nestor in the fourth game. That enabled the Indians to take a 3-1 lead and they never looked back after that.

“My level dropped after the first set. We didn't get enough balls in play and they served better as the match went on. Max played well, so I feel bad about that. But we played against a tough team today,” Nestor admitted.

The win takes the Indians ahead of World No. 1 Bob and Mike Bryan for first place in the ATP doubles team rankings and in the battle to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

It is Paes and Bhupathi's second team title of the year, following the Chennai Open at the start of the season.

“It's still early for us. The season is broken down into four segments — this is just the first of them. If we're still No. 1 after the U.S. Open, then we'll start getting excited,” said Bhupathi.

Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 to win the WTA's prestigious Miami hardcourt crown for the second time.

Azarenka, the 21-year-old eighth seed from Belarus, took full advantage of Sharapova's struggles, as the former World No. 1 held serve just once and committed 43 unforced errors.

The results (finals): Women: Singles: Victoria Azarenka bt Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4.

Men: Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi & Leander Paes bt Max Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-5 (tiebreak). — Agencies

Vettel wins Malaysian Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, giving the world champion back to back wins to open the season.

The pole sitter led throughout to win by 3.2 seconds from McLaren’s Jenson Button, with Renault’s Nick Heidfeld hanging on for third.

“I love what I do and I don’t think I could be happier at this stage,” Vettel said. “Two wins out of two is perfect, couldn’t be better, but there is still a very long way to go this season.”

Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber recovered from a poor start, using a four—stop strategy around the Sepang International circuit to claim fourth place, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa fifth.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had a collision in the closing laps that dropped them down to sixth and seventh respectively.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi took eighth place, while Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher made a very late passing maneuver to take ninth from Force India’s Paul Di Resta, who took the last point in 10th.

Vettel’s 12th career victory was made more impressive by the malfunctioning of the KERS device on the Red Bull, with the German told midway through the race that he could no longer use it, even though it became operable again later.

“It was a little bit on—off during the race, so its something we have to work on,” Vettel said, although he praised KERS for enabling him to get to the first corner in the lead, saying “it saved our life today.”

Webber also appeared to have problems with KERS, dropping from third to ninth after just one lap. By contrast, both Renaults made storming starts, with Heidfeld moving from sixth to second by the second corner and Vitaly Petrov vaulting from eighth to fifth.

With rain surprisingly holding off throughout, the closing stages developed into a fight to see who could make their tires last longest. Button used his trademark tire management to claim second.

“It was a confusing race in a way, trying to understand the pitstops,” Button said. “The last stint, when we put the hard tire on, the car came alive.”

Heidfeld came under intense pressure in the final laps but managed to hold off Webber, saying later “I am grateful to finish third.”

One of the major talking points of the race was a collision between old rivals Hamilton and Alonso with 10 laps to go. The Ferrari driver tried a switchback passing move on Hamilton but did not quite measure the distance correctly, and snapped off the left endplate of his front wing by nudging Hamilton’s right rear tire.

Alonso had to pit for a new front wing, while Hamilton struggled thereafter as his tires degraded, and was passed by Heidfeld then Webber before admitting defeat and pitting for new rubber with only three laps left.

Heidfeld’s third place gave Renault consecutive podium finishes. Petrov, who was third in Australia, had a spectacular end to his race, running wide over the grass and hitting a drainage ditch which launched him through the air, across the track, and into a brake distance marker.

There is only a one—week gap to the third race of the season, in Shanghai, where McLaren will be hoping to make another step toward matching the Red Bulls.

“We have seen how clear it is much closer than in Australia, so we see how things can change, so we have to keep pushing,” Vettel said.

Button said “we can’t let the Red Bulls have it their own way for much longer {hbox}” we want to challenge these guys.”

Nadel Crushes Federer Miami Open in Semifinals

World number one Rafa Nadal produced some outstanding tennis to crush long standing rival Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 on Friday and reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Nadal, who now has a 15-8 record in meetings between the two, dominated from the outset and was superior in all elements of the game.

"I think I played a very, very good match, very solid and serious. In the first set especially I think I played very, very well," Nadal told reporters.

"In the second set I think he played worse. He had more mistakes than usual. He tried to play shorter points, so I think second set he didn't play well."

The Spaniard was devastating with his serve, particularly in the first set, winning 16 of his 18 service points.

In the second he took full advantage of some unusually loose returns, especially on forehand, from the Swiss world number three.

A packed, 14,500 crowd under the lights had hoped for a tighter contest and urged Federer to lift his game but the Swiss had just one break point in the match.

"He played tough and he played good when he had to and I didn't do that. So it's disappointing for me," said Federer.

"I didn't think I served poorly, but Rafa did well and got a lot of balls back.

"I was just not good on the offensive tonight, and that kind of took all the opportunities away to create something," said Federer who will now head to Monaco to begin the European clay court season.

Nadal is searching for his first title in this Masters 1000 Series event at Key Biscayne and will be seeking revenge for Djokovic's victory over him at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

Djokovic has won his last 25 matches, stretching back into last year.

"He's winning all his matches very easily. He hasn't lost a match this year, so we'll see is what's going to happen. He's playing fantastic tennis," Nadal added.

"I've got to play very well all the match if I want to have any chance. I have to play aggressive tennis and I have to play all the points, and that's what I (am) going to try to do."

Dhoni hits out at critics

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday took potshots at the critics of his team, saying that the World Cup triumph has answered them.

He said a couple of decisions taken by him in today's summit showdown against Sri Lanka could have been criticised had his side not won the World Cup.

"A few decisions I have taken today, including why I brought in S. Sreesanth instead of Ravichandran Ashwin and why I promoted myself in the batting order ahead of Yuvraj who has been in great form. It could have been that the decisions cost the match," he said at the post-match presentation after India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the summit showdown here.

"We have been hearing a lot of things during this tournament and so it feels great to win the World Cup," he said.

"I always wanted to give chance to give chance to younger players by sending them up the order. Today, I thought I would take the responsibility myself. It was more like proving myself and not to others," he said.

Asked specifically if the World Cup triumph was in a way telling the critics to shut up as the players would do their job with their performance, he said: "In India it would be very rude to say like that."

"We spent the last 30-35 days together in the field and the dressing room thinking of this victory only and we have achieved that now," he added.

Greatest moment of my career: Sachin

He holds some amazing records in cricketing history but for Sachin Tendulkar winning the World Cup was the greatest moment of his career.
A highly emotional Tendulkar conceded yesterday after India's historic six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the tournament's summit clash that it was the 'proudest day of my life'.
"Couldn't have asked for more. This is ultimate. It is the proudest moment of my life," said Tendulkar in an emotion- choked voice after India broke the jinx of host nation not lifting the Cup.
"I thank the team for putting up a fabulous performance and playing consistent cricket," added the maestro, who had represented the country in five previous World Cups. Tendulkar, the highest run-getter in both Tests (14692) and ODIs (18111) and also the only batsman to have notched up a double century in the 50-over game, has said before the tournament that it was his dream to be part of a World Cup-winning Indian squad.
"As a young boy, I grew up dreaming that I will be lifting the World Cup someday. Along the way, many things happened in my career and I am extremely happy about those," Sachin said.
The cricket icon, who did a lap of honour on the shoulder of his teammates said there was tears in his eyes once Dhoni hit the winning shot off Nuwan Kulasekara - a six over long on.
"Yes, they were happy tears. So I don't mind. We have stuck together through ups and down," stated the legend, who will be celebrating his 38th birthday on April 24.
Tendulkar, who missed out on his 100th international ton in his home venue, lavished praise on the support staff especially adventure enthusiast and motivational expert Mike Horn, who joined the team just before the World Cup.
"I wanted to thank Mike Horn. The sessions with him were of immense help. Also I want to thank Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton. They have to be given the credit as they instilled a bit more self belief in us. We have been very consistent during the last two years and this is a result of that," Tendulkar said.
The master batsman finished the tournament as the second-highest run-getter by accumulating 482 runs from nine games at 53.55 per innings, 18 runs short of Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan.
'We kissed the trophy 1000 times'
Man of the tournament Yuvraj Singh said that this current bunch has always raised the bar for themselves and there's been fierce unity in the team.
"I guess we kissed the World Cup atleast 1000 times. It's a great bunch who have backed each other. Thanks to Gary that we have been able to raise the bar. We have never been complacent," Yuvraj said.

Dhoni shaving off his head After World cup

Having carried the burden of expectations of a billion people, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lightened his burden by shaving off his head soon after vanquishing Sri Lanka in the World Cup final, to fulfill a pledge to the Gods.
Dhoni surprised the world with his tonsured head on Sunday morning, having shaved off the hair in the middle of the night in his hotel room here.
Dhoni is believed to have made a commitment to do so before a deity close to his hometown in Ranchi before the World Cup began. The priest had advised him to shave off the head between 2.45 am and 3 am which is what he did.
The hair will now be offered at the Balaji temple in Tirupati.
Dhoni's new look was first seen during an official photo-op session in front of the iconic Gateway of India, where some members of the Indian cricket team posed for shutterbugs with World Cup trophy.
Incidentally, Dhoni had cut his long locks after India won the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.

India spectacularly broke the jinx

Pre-tournament favourites India spectacularly broke the jinx of the nation hosting the final of the World Cup not clinching cricket's most treasured prize in earlier editions.

When Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men crossed the finishing line after overhauling the stiff target of 275 set by Sri Lanka, it was the first-time ever in the tournament's history that the nation hosting the grand finale had come out trumps.

England had hosted the tournament on four occasions (1975-1983 and 1999) without tasting success even once.

India held the final of the 1987 tournament, joint co-hosts being Pakistan, and Allan Border's Australians fought Mike Gatting's England at the Eden Gardens successfully to snatch away the prize for the first time.

Five years later, Australia hosted the final (the tournament’s joint co-hosts being New Zealand), and it was the turn of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan to win.

In 1996 though ultimate winners Lanka were the co-hosts of the tournament with India and Pakistan, the final was held at Lahore.

After the 1999 tournament won by Australia in England, Ricky Ponting-led the Aussies to back-to-back title triumphs in 2003 (South Africa hosting the final) and in 2007 (hosted by the West Indies).

Egged on by the capacity crowd of 33,000, India created history as hosts of the summit clash by denying tournament co-hosts Lanka the Cup as well as the top prize of $3 million. The Emerald Islanders pocketed $1.5 million.

The triumph also placed India alongside the West Indies and Australia as the teams to have won the coveted title on more than one occasion.

India, the Cricket World Cup 2011 Winner

Gautam Gambhir made 97 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls as India won the World Cup for the first time since 1983 with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Sri Lanka, who won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night final, rode on Mahela Jayawardene's 103 not out off 88 balls to pile up 274-6 in their 50 overs.

India, cheered by a sell-out crowd of 33,000 at the Wankhede stadium, surpassed the challenging target with 10 balls to spare as Dhoni pounded Nuwan Kulasekara for the winning six.

India had slumped to 31-2 by the sixth over when sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga dismissed Virender Sehwag (0) second ball and had star batsman Sachin Tendulkar (18) caught behind in his fourth over.

Gambhir, who was dropped on 30 and escaped a run-out chance on 49, turned the match around by adding 83 for the third wicket with Virat Kohli and 109 for the fourth with Dhoni, who was named the Man of the Match.

Yuvraj Singh, who was named the man of the tournament, partnered his skipper till the end with 21 not out after Gambhir was bowled by Thisara Perera in the 42nd over when 52 more were still needed.

Dhoni's men emulated Kapil Dev's compatriots who won the 1983 World Cup by beating the West Indies in the final at Lord's in London.

The victory, watched by Indian President Pratibha Patil and Sri Lanka's head of state Mahinda Rajapakse, was the first occassion a team had won the tournament on home soil.

It was only the third time in 10 World Cup finals that a side batting second had chased down the victory target.

The finale gave Tendulkar, the world's most successful Test and one-day batsman, his first World Cup title in six appearances since 1992.

The defeat ended Sri Lankan star bowler Muttiah Muralitharan's dream of being part of a second World Cup-winning team, having won the title under Arjuna Ranatunga in 1996 in Lahore.

Muralitharan, who turns 39 next month, went wicketless in eight overs to end his career with a record 800 Test and 534 one-day wickets.

Confusion reigned at the toss, which had to be performed twice after match referee Jeff Crowe did not hear Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara's call when Dhoni threw up the coin.

Jayawardene shored up Sri Lanka's innings before tailenders Nuwan Kulasekara (32 off 30 balls) and Thisara Perera (22 off nine) helped their team smash 63 runs in the last five overs of power-play.

India's left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan dried up the flow of runs at the start and his two wickets made him the tournament's leading bowler alongside Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi with 21 wickets each.

Zaheer opened with three successive maidens and then struck with the first ball of his fourth over when Sehwag dived to his right in the slips to remove Upul Tharanga for two.

Fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth lifted the pressure by conceding 15 runs in his fifth over that included a no-ball and a warning for running in the danger area in his follow-through.

Sreesanth, who was preferred ahead of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin after Ashish Nehra was ruled out with a fractured finger, was thrashed for 52 runs in his eight overs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, going into the final as the tournament's leading scorer with 467 runs, made 33 when he was bowled by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to make Sri Lanka 60-2 in the 17th over.

Jayawardene put on 62 for the third wicket with Sangakkara (48) and 57 for the fourth with Thilan Samaraweera (21).

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka
U. Tharanga c Sehwag b Zaheer 2
T. Dilshan b Harbhajan 33
K. Sangakkara c Dhoni b Yuvraj 48
M. Jaywardene not out 103
T. Samaraweera lbw b Yuvraj 21
C. Kapugedera c Raina b Zaheer 1
N. Kulasekara run out (Dhoni) 32
T. Perera not out 22

Extras (bl, lb3, w6, nb2) 12

Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 274

Did not bat: L Malinga, S Randiv, M Muralitharan

Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Tharanga), 2-60 (Dilshan), 3-122 (Sangakkara), 4-179 (Samaraweera), 5-182 (Kapugedera), 6-248 (Kulasekara)

Bowling: Zaheer 10-3-60-2 (1w);

Sreesanth 8-0-52-0 (2nb);

Patel 9-0-41-0 (1w);

Harbhajan 10-0-50-1 (1w);

Yuvraj 10-0-49-2;

Tendulkar 2-0-12-0 (3w);

Kohli 1-0-6-0

India:
Virender Sehwag lbw b Malinga 0
Sachin Tendulkar c Sangakkara b Malinga 18
Gautam Gambhir b Perera 97
Virat Kohli c & b Dilshan 35
MS Dhoni not out 91
Yuvraj Singh not out 21

Extras: (B-1, LB-6, W-8) 15

Total: (For 4 wkts in 48.2 overs) 277

Fall of wickets: 1/0 2/31 3/114 4/223
Bowling:

Malinga 9-0-42-2,

Kulasekara 8.2-0-64-0,

Perera 9-0-55-1,

Randiv 9-0-43-0,

Dilshan 5-0-27-1,

Muralitharan 8-0-39-0.