The Indian cricket team displayed some remarkable grit to snap Sri Lanka's 13-match-long winning streak in ODIs after registering a 41-run win over the Dasun Shanaka-led side on Tuesday, September 12 in the ongoing Asia Cup. Playing at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, India managed to stall Sri Lanka's march into the finals by putting up a remarkable bowling performance and confirmed a berth in the summit clash.
India have won both their matches in the ongoing tournament and put together four points to their credit along with an impressive Net Run Rate (NRR) of 2.690. They are still to play Bangladesh in their remaining Super Four fixture but that will be a dead rubber as Bangladesh are already out of the race to the finals.
The win for India brought much-needed relief for their arch-rivals Pakistan as they needed the Rohit Sharma-led side to register a win to stay in contention for a place in the finale of the continental tournament.
Who can qualify for the final of the Asia Cup and join India?
Sri Lanka's Qualification Scenario
Although, the defending champions Sri Lanka lost a nail-biting clash against the Men in Blue, they can still make it to the final. They have two points, the same as Pakistan but occupy the second spot on the points table by virtue of a better NRR (-0.200). They can reach the final by beating Pakistan and even a tie or no result can ensure them a berth in the summit clash.
They just need to avoid a loss as it will see the Green Brigade march into the final.
Pakistan's Qualification Scenario
The qualification scenario is fairly simple for Pakistan. The Babar Azam-led side has to register a win over Sri Lanka in their upcoming Super Four clash on Thursday, September 14 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Any other result apart from a win won't get them through to the finale as their NRR (-1.892) is inferior to Sri Lanka's as a result of the hammering they received at the hands of India.
For Bangladesh, the tournament is already over. The Shakib Al Hasan-led side still has a game left in the Super Four stage but it will be just an opportunity for them to bow out on a high note if they defeat India.
