Highlights
- Sri Lanka with two victories has almost reached the finals of the Asia Cup
- India have lost two consecutive T20I matches for the first time under Rohit Sharma's captaincy
- Team India will now face Afghanistan next
IND vs SL: Rohit Sharma-led team India has faced a major setback in the ongoing Asia Cup. On September 6, 2022, the Dasun Shanaka-led team Sri Lanka defeated India by a margin of six wickets. The Sri Lankan team who now has two consecutive victories in the Super 4 round has a stronger claim to the all-important finals as compared to any other team.
India had set a decent total of 174 for Sri Lanka after they were invited to bat first. The Sri Lankan batsmen proved to be just too good for team India as they chased it down with one wicket remaining. What surprised many was India's choice of bowling lineup. India had opted only for two seamers and one fast-bowling all-rounder in the form of Hardik Pandya. With just two spinners, three pacers, and the unavailability of a sixth bowler, India repeated the same mistake which cost them the match.
"I was happy with three seamers. Unfortunately, Avesh hasn't turned up well in the fitness tests. He didn't respond well because he was quite sick. Ideally, the combination we would play is four-seamers, but three-seamers was something we wanted to try before the World Cup. We need to find answers as a team, like where we are with five bowlers. We know now where we stand with this combination. No long-term worries, we have lost only two games back to back. Since the last World Cup, we haven't lost too many games. These games will teach us. We wanted to put ourselves under pressure in the Asia Cup. We are still looking for answers", said Rohit.
With just 7 runs to defend off the last over, young Arshdeep was once again designated with the duty to bowl the final over and he delivered it to the best of his potential. Arshdeep was extremely accurate with his line and lengths and restrained the Sri Lankan batters but they ended up winning on the second last ball of the match.
"Chahal and Bhuvi are the senior pros and have been doing it for a while. I need to get answers from the younger ones. With the ball, it was a good effort to take it to the last over considering the start they had. The spinners bowled aggressively and got wickets in the middle overs, but Sri Lanka held their nerve", said Rohit while assessing the outcome of the match.
(Inputs from PTI)
