New Delhi: India’s impressive bowling unit collaboratively terminated Sri Lanka’s remarkable 13-match unbeaten streak in ODIs, securing their place in the 2023 Asia Cup final with a game to spare. This victory came as Sri Lanka struggled and fell short by 41 runs to reach the target at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.
India secured a 41-run victory over the co-hosts as Sri Lanka’s team was dismissed for a total of 172 runs.
Kuldeep Yadav once again delivered an outstanding bowling performance, claiming four wickets while conceding just 43 runs. Yadav dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Kasun Rajitha, and Matheesha Pathirana.
In the meantime, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah each secured a pair of wickets, while Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya both managed to claim one wicket each.
Earlier, India managed to score only 213 runs in their Super Four stage match against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.
In a remarkable bowling performance, Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage achieved a personal best by taking a five-wicket haul for just 40 runs. Wellalage managed to dismiss all the top-order Indian batsmen, including Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya.
In addition, the remaining five wickets were taken by the Sri Lankan off-spinners Charith Asalanka and M. Theekshana. Asalanka secured four wickets, while Theekshana took one wicket.
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was the leading run-scorer with 53 runs off 48 balls, while Axar Patel also contributed a crucial 26 runs to the total.
India clinched victory in their inaugural Super Four stage encounter against Pakistan on Monday, showcasing an outstanding all-round performance. This win propelled India to the top spot of the Asia Cup Super Four stage points table.
Axar Patel replaced Shardul Thakur in the side. Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of today’s match as he is still not fully recovered from his injury.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (w), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana
Brief Score: India 213 (Rohit Sharma 53, KL Rahul 39; Dunith Wellalage 5-40) vs Sri Lanka 172 (Dunith Wellalage 42*, Dhananjaya de Silva 41; Kuldeep Yadav 4-43).