It was a batting feast at Dubai International Cricket Stadium as Charith Asalanka-led Sri Lanka delivered a brilliant batting performance and finished with the same score as India to force the last Asia Cup Super Fours game into a super-over on Friday night.
Chasing 203 runs for victory, Sri Lanka finished on 202/5, resulting in a tie with India. Kusal Perera and Dasun Shanaka came out to play the Super Over, but Arshdeep Singh took a wicket off the first and sixth deliveries as Sri Lanka could only score two runs, handing India a final target of three runs.
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 bowlers conceded plenty of runs as India set a target of 203. Nonetheless, the Indian bowlers couldn’t contain the opposition batters, with Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka dominating with the bat.
Although India began their defending efforts positively, with Hardik Pandya dismissing Kusal Mendis for a golden duck, they were unable to stop the opposition’s top-order, which took control and eventually won the game.
Perera and Nissanka shared a brilliant 127-run partnership to set the tone for Sri Lanka as they finished the Power-play with 72 runs on the board. The duo was unstoppable and left the Indian bowlers stunned.
India finally got a breakthrough late in the 13th over, when Varun Chakaravarthy spun a web to trap Perera. The World No. 1 T20I bowler sent down a flatter length ball outside off as Perera came down the track looking to slam it. However, he misjudged the line completely as Sanju Samson dismantled the bails quickly.
Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh soon dismissed Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis, as Sri Lanka lost momentum for a brief period after losing quick wickets in the middle. However, Nissanka powered through with a magnificent knock and scored a fine maiden 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 too played a noteworthy knock in the death while partnering with Varma. The all-rounder notched up 21 runs off 15 deliveries, including a six off the last ball of the innings to help India get past the 200-run total.
Asalanka’s men breathed fire as they set out to chase the target. While the Indian bowlers couldn’t do much in the first half of the innings, they managed to take a few wickets later in the game to halt the batters’ momentum.
However, the Sri Lankan batters remained calm and composed until the last ball to finish in a tie and advanced to the super over. They couldn’t do much with the bat there as India chased down the three-run target with ease to clinch a win.
Although this was a dead rubber, with India already having qualified for the final, Sri Lanka will be pleased with their performance against the No. 1-ranked T20I side in the world.
Indo-Asian News Service
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