Indian cricket team pulled off a 41-run win over Sri Lanka to reach the final of the Asia Cup 2023 on Tuesday, September 12. Sri Lanka restricted India to just 213 runs in the Super 4 clash with youngster Dunith Wellalage dominating the game with five wickets but the batters struggled to chase the low-score total at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium.
A win for India also knocked out Bangladesh from the race for the final and now Pakistan and Sri Lanka will clash for the second spot in the final on Thursday. Rohit Sharma won the toss for India and elected to bat first with one change to his playing XI. Spin all-rounder Axar Patel replaced pacer Shardul Thakur while Sri Lanka remained unchanged for the crucial Super 4 game.
Indian openers Rohit and Shubman Gill started well with an 80-run stand for the opening wicket in the first 12 overs with the former smashing his third consecutive fifty in the tournament. But Wellalage turned the game for the hosts with Gill's wicket in the 12th over. He dismissed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in his next two overs to get Sri Lanka back in the game.
KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan kept India on track for a big total with a 63-run stand for the fourth wicket with some defensive but sensible cricket. Wellalage picked Rahul's wicket to give Sri Lanka a breakthrough in the 30th over and then India's innings collapsed like a house of cards. Wellalage finished his 10-over spell with Hardik Pandya's wicket and also contributed to Ishan's wicket by taking a stunning flying catch at covers.
Axar added crucial 26 runs off 36 balls but Theekshana ended India's innings in the last over to restrict them to just 213 runs. This was India's sixth-lowest total in Asia Cup history and this is the first time they lost all ten wickets to spin in their ODI history.
However, unlike Sri Lankan pacers, India's pace attack was impressive with a new ball in the powerplay overs. Jasprit Bumrah made a quick impact with Pathum Nissanka's early wicket in the third over and then dismissed in-form Kusal Mendis to give India a flying start. Mohammed Siraj picked Dimuth Karunaratne's valuable wicket in the eighth over to put India in complete control of the game.
In-form Sadeera Samarawickrama and Asalanka added 43 runs for the fourth wicket to raise Sri Lanka's hopes for the chase. Kuldeep Yadav gave India a breakthrough with Sadeera's wicket in the 18th over and also dismissed Asalanka in his next over (20th) to shift the momentum.
But after a sensational spell with a ball, Wellalage also displayed his batting skills and dragged his team back into the game. Wellalage and spin all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva added 63 runs for the seventh wicket to balance the game and put Sri Lanka in the favourites category for the time being.
Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership in the 38th over when Sri Lanka needed only 52 runs in 76 balls with four wickets in hand. Dhananjaya scored 41 off 66 balls and then Kuldeep ended Sri Lanka's innings with two wickets in the 42nd over to give India a deserving 41-run win. Kuldeep picked four wickets while Jadeja and Bumrah took two wickets each for India to bowl out Sri Lanka on 172 runs.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana
