Champions Trophy PHOTOS: India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd semi-final

Superb bowling from Ishant Sharma and half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli helped India rout Sri Lanka by eight wickets with 15 overs to spare to storm into the ICC Champions Trophy final.

India will play England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday.

Earlier, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and asked Sri Lanka to bat in their semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday.

- Scorecard

The start of the match was delayed by half an hour due to a wet outfield caused by heavy rain. India named an unchanged side while Sri Lanka made two changes.

All-rounder Jeevan Mendis replaced middle-order batsman Dinesh Chandimal, who has a groin injury, and pace bowler Thisara Perera was selected ahead of Shaminda Eranga.

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided the early breakthrough with the wicket of opener Kushal Perera, who was caught at second slip for four in the third over.

Sri Lanka were then dealth another blow in the form of injury to Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was forced retire with his score on 12 in the fifth over. He returned to bat in the 48th over as Sri Lanka struggled to get the boundaries in the final overs while losing wickets at regular intervals.

Dilshan failed to make much impact as he struggled to run between the wickets to finish on 18 from 21 balls.

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma crippled Sri Lanka with two wickets in his first spell.

Lahiru Thirimanne was caught at second slip by Raina for seven and in his next over he got the key wicket of Kumar Sangakkara, who fell in similar fashion, after scoring 17 as Sri Lanka were reduced to 41 for three after 18 overs.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni took off his gloves and bowled a few quiet overs, giving away 17 runs in four overs.

Dhoni nearly struck in his first over when his LBW appeal against Mahela Jayawardene was upheld by umpire Aleem Dar but Sri Lanka took the DRS which showed that the batsman had got an inside edge and the decision was overturned.

Ravindra Jadeja continued his good form with the ball as he registered excellent figures of one for 33 in ten overs.

He made the crucial breakthrough with the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, who was bowled for 38, after putting on 78 runs for the fourth wicket with Angelo Mathews.

Angelo Mathews rescued Sri Lanka with a gritty half-century as he scored 51 from 89 balls that took them to 181 for eight.

Jeevan Mendis made 25 but Sri Lanka struggled to get the boundaries in the final few overs and ended up losing three wickets for 25 runs in the last five overs.

Ishant registered the best bowling figures for India as he took three for 33, while Ashwin claimed three for 48.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan once again provided India with a good start as the duo put on 77 runs in 17 overs for the opening wicket.

Rohit hit a fluent 33 before he yet again threw away a good start when he inside edged Angelo Mathews and was bowled.

Dhawan continued his golden run with the bat as he stroked another half-century in the tournament.

The left-hander, who has already hit two centuries in the ICC Champions Trophy, set India on their way to another easy victory with an excellent innings of 68 from 92 balls on a pitch where run scoring was not entirely easy.

He put on 65 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, before he was stumped off leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis.

The match was marred by Sri Lankan protesters who entered the field of play several times during the day.

Both there was no stopping the Indian team who continued their dominant run in the tournament with another crushing victory.

Virat Kohli finally found some form as he hit his way to a fluent innings of 58 from 64 balls, with the help of four boundaries and a six.

India cruised to 182 for two in 35 overs to register a convincing eight-wicket victory with 90 deliveries to spare and stay unbeaten in the tournament.