India last won the title in 1995 under Mohammad Azharuddin but since it has lost three finals, all against Sri Lanka.

The final takes place Thursday in Dambulla, Sri Lanka.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the key to winning Thursday is lowering expectation for his side which is looking to return to the glory days of the late 1980s and early 1990s when it won three titles in a row.

"Somehow we have not been able to win it. Maybe the performances were not good," Dhoni said. "As a cricketer you treat it as just another game. If you win that particular game, you have won the finals." India lost to Sri Lanka in the last preliminary round match by seven wickets after resting key players like Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra.

Dhoni said his team was never in the chase after a batting collapse triggered by a sensational hat-trick by Sri Lankan seam bowler Farveez Maharoof who finished with his second five-wicket haul.

"We got the kind of start that was needed but we were not really able to convert that into big scores," Dhoni said.

In 2008, Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya scored a century under pressure and spinner Ajantha Mendis rattled India's batting order after a promising start to finish with his career-best six wickets to hand Sri Lanka their second successive victory.

Both Jayasuriya and Mendis were dropped for this edition because of poor form.

"But we've got players probably capable of doing similar things for us," Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said.

"If we play as a unit and stick together, we have a good chance of winning." Both teams are set to call back their senior players, including India's Harbhajan and Nehra and Sri Lanka's ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and batsman Thilan Samaraweera.

Sri Lanka comes into the match buoyed by the recent form of Mahroof who struggled early on against Pakistan but played well against India. His performance, however, will make it difficult for selectors to choose the seam bowlers with Nuwan Kulasekera and Lasith Malinga also performing well.

"It will be a confidence booster if I make the 11," Mahroof said of his chances of making it into the team. "I just want to turn up there and do the right thing." 230850 jun 10GMT

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Haddin withdraws from Pakistan Tests

Meantime, wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has withdraw from the Australian cricket squad to play Pakistan next month after failing to recover fully from an elbow injury.

Tim Paine was named Wednesday as Haddin's replacement by for the two tests against Pakistan to be played in England.

Test regular Haddin was included in the 14-man squad, but withdrew after experiencing pain while batting in the nets.

Haddin said he consulted a specialist in Sydney who advised him to be patient in his rehabilitation from a tendon injury, similar to tennis elbow. He said he hoped to be fit for Australia's tour to India in October.

Australia and Pakistan will play at Lord's beginning July 13 and Headingley from July 21. The matches will be played in England due to security concerns over Pakistan.