Finance
Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka-led team delivered a great batting performance at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, finishing with the same total as India and forcing the last Asia Cup Super Fours game into a super-over on Friday night.
Sri Lanka finished on 202/5, tying India despite needing 203 runs to win. Kusal Perera and Dasun Shanaka stepped out to play the Super Over, but Arshdeep Singh grabbed a wicket off the first and sixth deliveries, limiting Sri Lanka to two runs and setting India a final goal of three.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill walked out for the chase, with the former facing the first ball. One delivery was all he required to finish the game, as the two ran three runs off it and clinched a magnificent win.
Earlier, Sri Lankan spinners gave many runs as India set a goal of 203. Nonetheless, the Indian bowlers were unable to contain the opposition batsmen, with Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka dominating with the bat.
Although India began their defence positively, with Hardik Pandya removing Kusal Mendis for a golden duck, they were unable to prevent the opposition’s top-order from taking control and subsequently winning the game.
Perera and Nissanka put on a stunning 127-run partnership to set the tone for Sri Lanka, who concluded the Power Play with 72 runs on the board. The two were unstoppable, leaving the Indian bowlers astonished.
India finally broke through late in the 13th over, when Varun Chakaravarthy spun a web to trap Perera. As Perera approached the wicket, the World No. 1 T20I bowler delivered a flatter length ball outside off. However, he grossly miscalculated the line, and Sanju Samson quickly destroyed the bails.
Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh quickly dismissed Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis, as Sri Lanka lost momentum for a short time after dropping quick wickets in the middle. However, Nissanka came through with a brilliant knock and struck a great first century.
It all boiled down to Sri Lanka needing 23 runs off the last two overs, which was further reduced to 12 off the last six balls as they neared the target. With the pressure mounting, Harshit Rana dismissed Nissanka on the first delivery of the final over to keep the opposition batters on the edge.
However, the Sri Lankan batters forced the game into a Super Over after finishing with 202 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
Earlier in the first innings, India posted 202/5 thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s 61-run knock and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 49. The opening batter continued his good form with the bat to bring up his third consecutive half-century in the tournament.
After Gill’s early wicket, India suffered another setback as Suryakumar walked back for a low total. However, some brilliant batting displays by Abhishek, Tilak Varma, and Sanju Samson helped the eight-time Asia Cup champions get past the 200-run mark on the scoreboard.
Axar Patel, who partnered with Varma, also contributed significantly to the killing. The all-rounder scored 21 runs off 15 deliveries, including a six off the final ball of the session, to help India surpass the 200-run mark.
Asalanka’s troops inhaled fire as they set out to pursue the objective. While the Indian bowlers struggled in the first half of the innings, they were able to grab a few wickets late in the game to halt the hitters’ momentum.
However, the Sri Lankan hitters remained calm and composed till the last ball, resulting in a draw and advancing to the super over.
They couldn’t do much with the bat as India easily chased down the three-run target to secure the victory.
Although this was a dead rubber, and India had already qualified for the final, Sri Lanka will be happy with their performance against the world’s top-ranked T20I side.
Brief scores:
India 202/5 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 49*; Maheesh Theekshana 1-36, Charith Asalanka 1-18) tie Sri Lanka 202 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 107, Kusal Perera 58; Kuldeep Yadav 1-31, Varun Chakaravarthy 1-31, Hardik Pandya 1-7).
Super Over: Sri Lanka 2/2 in 1 over (Arshdeep 2-2) lost to India 3/0 in 0.1 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 3 not out).
Source: IANS
