Gambhir posts unbeaten 102 to lead India to 267

Brisbane: Guatam Gambhir made an unbeaten 102 from 101 balls after being dropped on 11 to lift India to 267 for four in Tuesday's tri-series limited-overs international against Sri Lanka.

Gambhir had a reprieve on 11 when wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara missed a diving chance off Ishara Amerasinghe and he survived a rocky middle period before combining with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a 184-run stand that salvaged India's innings after it slumped to 83-4 in the 21st over.

Muttiah Muralidaran took two wickets in his first over in a period when India lost three wickets for three runs.

Yuvraj Singh (2), back in the team after a knee injury sidelined him for India's washed out series-opening match against Australia on Sunday, edged to slip off Muralidaran's third ball.

Two balls later, 20-year-old Rohit Sharma was adjudged out by umpire Rudi Koertzen, caught behind to a ball that appeared to miss his bat, and despite no appeal from Muralidaran.

Gambhir and Dhoni started slowly, scoring just 32 in the middle 10 overs, before accelerating and combining for 105 in the final 10.

Gambhir stroked Lasith Malinga for successive boundaries in the last over to post his third one-day international century.

Veteran openers Sachin Tendulkar (35) and Virender Sehwag (33) started confidently with a 68-run stand before Tendulkar played on to a Malinga ball.

Rain forced an early end to the series-opening match on Sunday night and was expected to interrupt play again on Tuesday night.