Colombo: India’s bowlers delivered a superb performance to defend a low total and secure a 41-run victory over Sri Lanka in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. With this win, India qualified for the final of the tournament, where they will face Bangladesh on Friday.
India was bowled out for 213 in 49.1 overs, thanks to a career-best five-wicket haul from Dunith Velalage (5/40) and four wickets from Charith Asalanka (4/18). Captain Rohit Sharma was the top-scorer for India with a quick-fire 53 off 48 balls, while Lokesh Rahul (39) and Ishan Kishan (33) also made useful contributions.
Sri Lanka’s chase never got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were all out for 172 in 43.3 overs. Dhananjay de Silva was the only batsman to offer some resistance with a fighting 41, but he did not get much support from the other end. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the Indian bowlers with four wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with two wickets each.
Rohit achieved a milestone
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave India a solid start after opting to bat first, adding 80 runs for the first wicket. Rohit reached a personal milestone during his innings, as he completed 10000 runs in ODI cricket in his 241st innings. He became the second-fastest to achieve this feat after Virat Kohli (205 innings), and left behind legends like Sachin Tendulkar (259 innings), Sourav Ganguly (263 innings) and Ricky Ponting (266 innings).
However, Velalage turned the tide in Sri Lanka’s favor by dismissing Gill, Kohli, and Rohit in quick succession, reducing India to 87/3. Rahul and Kishan then steadied the ship with a 63-run stand for the fourth wicket, but Velalage broke it by removing Rahul. Asalanka then ran through the Indian middle and lower order, as India lost their last seven wickets for just 63 runs.
Sri Lanka crumbled under pressure
Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a disastrous start, as they lost three wickets for just 25 runs. Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Kusal Mendis fell cheaply to Bumrah and Siraj. Asalanka and de Silva tried to rebuild the innings with a 44-run partnership, but Jadeja dismissed Asalanka to break the stand.
Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals, as Kuldeep ran through their batting line-up with his variations. De Silva was the last man out, as he holed out to Bumrah off Kuldeep’s bowling. Sri Lanka fell short of the target by 41 runs, handing India a comfortable win and a spot in the final.
