174/4 (19.5)
CRR : 8.77
173/8 (20.0)
CRR : 8.65
Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Player
2/2633(18)
SL won by 6 wickets
So, if Pakistan beats Afghanistan tomorrow, then India will be knocked out of the tournament officially.
Another humdinger and again it's the Indian side who are at the receiving end of a defeat this time. A drama in the last ball and somehow it's the Sri Lankan side that has done wonders and crossed the finishing line. SRILANKA has made it to the finals of the ASIA CUP 2022.
Not a pleasant start to the Super Fours for India and it's the other way round for Sri Lanka. They have won two out of two now and are at the top in the league stages.
Arriving for the chase of 174 runs, Sri Lanka propelled a flying start as Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis took apart the Indian bowlers. Bhuvneshwar was brilliant in the first over, found some movement but soon, it was the Sri Lankan opening duo who accelerated the innings and glued a partnership of 97 runs. The left-hand and right-handed pair attacked the fast bowlers and were also able to deal with the spinners initially.
Nissanka went dismissed for 52 of 37 deliveries. It was the spin duo of Yuzi Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin who brought back India in the game. Chahal and Ashwin dismissed the top four in quick succession within the 14th over.
Right then, it was the pair of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka who struck a 64 runs partnership and took the Lions past the finishing line.
42 runs were needed from 24 balls and then Arshdeep Singh bowled a brilliant over. Hardik gave away 12 runs in the next and Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 14 runs in the 19th over. With 7 runs needed from the last over, Arshdeep was brilliant with his piercing yorkers but in the end, lacked to have any margin of error. With 2 runs needed from 2 balls, the Sri Lankan duo run hard for two runs in an overthrow that too via bye.
So with that, Sri Lanka has made it to the Finals of the ASIA CUP 2022.
Not a pleasant start to the Super Fours for India and it's the other way round for Sri Lanka. They have won two out of two now and are at the top in the league stages.
Arriving for the chase of 174 runs, Sri Lanka propelled a flying start as Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis took apart the Indian bowlers. Bhuvneshwar was brilliant in the first over, found some movement but soon, it was the Sri Lankan opening duo who accelerated the innings and glued a partnership of 97 runs. The left-hand and right-handed pair attacked the fast bowlers and were also able to deal with the spinners initially.
Nissanka went dismissed for 52 of 37 deliveries. It was the spin duo of Yuzi Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin who brought back India in the game. Chahal and Ashwin dismissed the top four in quick succession within the 14th over.
Right then, it was the pair of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka who struck a 64 runs partnership and took the Lions past the finishing line.
42 runs were needed from 24 balls and then Arshdeep Singh bowled a brilliant over. Hardik gave away 12 runs in the next and Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 14 runs in the 19th over. With 7 runs needed from the last over, Arshdeep was brilliant with his piercing yorkers but in the end, lacked to have any margin of error. With 2 runs needed from 2 balls, the Sri Lankan duo run hard for two runs in an overthrow that too via bye.
So with that, Sri Lanka has made it to the Finals of the ASIA CUP 2022.
Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul opened for India. Maheesh Theekshana picked the first wicket in the second over of the match as he trapped Rahul in front of the stumps. Virat Kohli didn’t trouble the scorers as he surprisingly missed an ugly hoick and saw his stumps rattle in the bowling off Dilshan Madushanka.
Suryakumar Yadav joined Rohit to rebuild the sinking ship and the duo stitched a partnership of 97 runs for the third wicket. The Indian skipper went on to score his 32nd T20I fifty. Rohit (72 off 41) played one straight down the throat of the fielder at deep covers for a delivery which was asked to be hit. SKY (34 off 29) was the fourth man to go as Dasun Shanaka rattled the middle and lower order by his change of paces.
Shanaka then went on to scalp the wicket of Hardik Pandya (17 off 13) as well. India kept on losing wickets and ended up 10-15 runs short of their desired target. Ravichandran Ashwin (15* off 7) struck some lusty blows at the fag end to propel India to a score of 173/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav joined Rohit to rebuild the sinking ship and the duo stitched a partnership of 97 runs for the third wicket. The Indian skipper went on to score his 32nd T20I fifty. Rohit (72 off 41) played one straight down the throat of the fielder at deep covers for a delivery which was asked to be hit. SKY (34 off 29) was the fourth man to go as Dasun Shanaka rattled the middle and lower order by his change of paces.
Shanaka then went on to scalp the wicket of Hardik Pandya (17 off 13) as well. India kept on losing wickets and ended up 10-15 runs short of their desired target. Ravichandran Ashwin (15* off 7) struck some lusty blows at the fag end to propel India to a score of 173/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka scalped three wickets while Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne picked a couple of wickets. Maheesh Theekshana supported other bowlers by picking one wicket.
Kusal Mendis: "Today, very happy in the moment. We batted really well for the opening wicket. It was really good to see us playing positive cricket. Happy to be involved in one of the best partnerships for us in the tournament.
We have been practising hard for the last six months in Sri Lanka. Coaches and support staff help us through those sessions and we did well there. It is because of those hard work here we are being able to execute it.
I and Pathum are not power hitters. We play with touch and score runs. That is what we did tonight. We knew once we give a good start to the team, we have power hitters sitting in the dugout. Rajapaksa and Shanaka were good again as they showed their finishing abilities. They took us home. Thank you."
We have been practising hard for the last six months in Sri Lanka. Coaches and support staff help us through those sessions and we did well there. It is because of those hard work here we are being able to execute it.
I and Pathum are not power hitters. We play with touch and score runs. That is what we did tonight. We knew once we give a good start to the team, we have power hitters sitting in the dugout. Rajapaksa and Shanaka were good again as they showed their finishing abilities. They took us home. Thank you."
Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "Look, we ended up being on the wrong side. It is as simple as that. Ahh, I thought with the kind of runs we got at the start of the innings, I think we needed to add a few more at the death overs. This didn't happen for us.
Yeah, as I said, we needed a few more runs. They batted really well and kept us on the back foot throughout the first half. It was heartwarming to see the comeback made by our bowlers after being hit during the first half. They did well and gave us a chance for us in the second half.
Yeah, we did think about playing the third seamer but Avesh wasn't fit to play. So, you need to go with the resources you have. We thought Ashwin is the better option with the number of left-handers they had. Since Hardik's comeback, we haven't looked for an extra bowler. He has been fully fit and we didn't need any other seamer other than him.
See, as I said, Hardik is our third quick bowler. The last two games didn't go his way and our way as well. We as a unit played well but I think we were a few runs short. In the end, what matters is keeping the nerves and executing the plans well.
Bhuvneshwar is an experienced death bowler but he also had a bad day in that over in the last two games. We had to keep our chin up and turn up tonight after the first defeat. Back-to-back games which didn't finish well for us.
We will try to come back strongly in the last match left for us in the Super Four's. Thank you."
Yeah, as I said, we needed a few more runs. They batted really well and kept us on the back foot throughout the first half. It was heartwarming to see the comeback made by our bowlers after being hit during the first half. They did well and gave us a chance for us in the second half.
Yeah, we did think about playing the third seamer but Avesh wasn't fit to play. So, you need to go with the resources you have. We thought Ashwin is the better option with the number of left-handers they had. Since Hardik's comeback, we haven't looked for an extra bowler. He has been fully fit and we didn't need any other seamer other than him.
See, as I said, Hardik is our third quick bowler. The last two games didn't go his way and our way as well. We as a unit played well but I think we were a few runs short. In the end, what matters is keeping the nerves and executing the plans well.
Bhuvneshwar is an experienced death bowler but he also had a bad day in that over in the last two games. We had to keep our chin up and turn up tonight after the first defeat. Back-to-back games which didn't finish well for us.
We will try to come back strongly in the last match left for us in the Super Four's. Thank you."
Best catch of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav
Dasun Shanaka will sign the match ball as he is the winning captain.
Dasun Shanaka(Player of the match, Sri Lanka Captain): "The environment has set the tone for the team. I think batting unit. The bowlers in particular they bowls in patches. The bowlers were brilliant and they were good to restrict India in 173. We know that we can do well in the tournament.
Pathum and Kusal were brilliant in the start and later me and Bhanuka did the job of pinch hitter. You know its about the team combination, Chamika is there for us, and he bowled 4 overs. I didn't need to bowl much therefore and we will try do what's best for the team"
Pathum and Kusal were brilliant in the start and later me and Bhanuka did the job of pinch hitter. You know its about the team combination, Chamika is there for us, and he bowled 4 overs. I didn't need to bowl much therefore and we will try do what's best for the team"
That's it from this Super Four fixture. Sri Lanka with a win to reach the finals. India is almost out of the competition. Who will meet Sri Lanka in the final? Only time will tell.
For now, this is your guy, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my beloved co-commentator Arijit Kundu, who, alongside our scorer/analyst Manish Bishnoi, brought us all the live actions from this mouth-watering encounter. Stay tuned with us for matches around the globe. We will meet in the next game. Until then, it is a goodbye!
For now, this is your guy, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my beloved co-commentator Arijit Kundu, who, alongside our scorer/analyst Manish Bishnoi, brought us all the live actions from this mouth-watering encounter. Stay tuned with us for matches around the globe. We will meet in the next game. Until then, it is a goodbye!