New Delhi: All-rounder Nilakshika Silva struck a brilliant counter-attacking 56 off 33 balls as Sri Lanka beat India by three wickets in a closely fought women's ODI tri-series match at Colombo on Sunday.

It marked Sri Lanka women's first ODI win over India in seven years and their second win of the tournament - their first having come against South Africa on Friday. India beat them by nine wickets in the first game of the series.

It was India's first defeat in the competition but they remain in firm contention for the final because of their earlier dominant wins. South Africa are the other team.

After being put into bat, India posted a competitive 275/9 with wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh top-scoring with an aggressive 58 off 48 deliveries. In reply, Sri Lanka appeared in trouble at 152/4 in the 33rd over before Nilakshika helped gain the momentum with a flurry of boundaries.

India's innings had begun solidly, but vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was run out for 18 in her 100th ODI. Opener Pratika Rawal, continuing her fine form in the tournament, scored 35 before being trapped lbw by Inoka Ranaweera (1/42).

Harleen Deol (29) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (30) made handy contributions, but regular wickets halted India's acceleration towards the end. Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu and Sugandika Kumari were the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka, taking three wickets apiece.

"The way Richa was batting, we thought we'll cross 280 easily but after the wicket, we couldn't execute like we expected to. Her wicket was the turning point. We weren't able to get breakthroughs in the first 10 overs. Batting we're still doing good but bowling is something we need to work on," Harmanpreet said after the match.

For Sri Lanka, Nilakshika's knock nearly set them up for victory but after her dismissal, Anushka Sanjeewani (23* off 28) and Sugandika (19* off 20) held their nerve to complete the chase with five balls to spare, pushing SA to the brink of elimination.

Earlier in the chase, Hasini Perera (22) was run out to a direct hit from Deepti Sharma. A vital second-wicket partnership of 78 between Harshitha Samarawickrama (53 off 61) and Vishmi Gunaratne (33 off 58) steadied the innings. Vishmi's was caught off Arundhati Reddy's bowling (1/55).

Chamari (23 off 33) was set before falling to Sneh Rana (3/45), who delivered a classic off-break to induce a faint edge through to the wicketkeeper. Despite the late breakthroughs, Sri Lanka's lower order maintained composure to pull off a memorable win.

"Actually, we played positive cricket in the last game and today. I am happy as a captain, youngsters are playing their best cricket," said Chamari. "We are ready to bat first too. We will try to score 250+ when we are put into bat. In the last two games, I have not been in the best form, so we thought of trying something different ahead of the World Cup. As a senior player, I need to lead from the front. I have been playing cricket for 15 years, but didn't bowl a lot. But I am bowling a lot these days. I'm just trying to keep it simple, and on the stumps - that's my mantra."

The result leaves Sri Lanka and India vying for a place in the final with four points each while South Africa have lost both their matches with two more to go.

Brief scores: India 275/9 (Jemimah Rodrigues 37, Richa Ghosh 58, Sugandika Kumari 3/44, Chamari Athapaththu 3/43); Sri Lanka 278/7 in 49.1 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 53, Nilakshika Silva 56, Sneh Rana 3/45). SL women won by 3 wkts.