Sri Lanka on Tuesday defeated India by 6 wickets in a Super 4 tie at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai. The victory has taken the island nation closer to the finale. India are almost out of the tournament. However, they can only qualify if they defeat Afghanistan in the next fixture while Pakistan lose their remaining two.
In pursuit of a 174-run target, Sri Lanka were cruising away with the match before Yuzvendra Chahal applied some break on their scoring rate. Breaking the 97-run opening stand, Chahal first dismissed Pathum Nissanka and followed it up with the wicket of Charith Asalanka in the 12th over.
ASIA CUP 2022: FULL COVERAGE | SCHEDULE | RESULTS
Chahal returned in the 15th over to pack set Kusal Mendis back to the pavilion and brought India back in the game. The exceptional performance commanded a special appreciation from Virat Kohli, who walked up to Chahal and kissed his forehead after the fall of Mendis.
#ViratKohli kisses #YuzvendraChahal #INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/5XHuQjfHCf
— Cricket fan (@Cricket58214082) September 6, 2022
While Chahal’s brilliance brought India back into the contest, a solid partnership between Lankan skipper Dasun Shanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa ensured no hiccups on their way to victory. The duo added 64 runs for the 5th wicket and took their side to past the finish line with a ball to spare.
Bhuvneshawar Kumar failed to deliver a tight 19th over and gave 14 runs including 2 wide. This left Arshdeep Singh with just 6 runs to defend in the final over.
With the victory, Sri Lanka has confirmed their spot in the Asia Cup final whereas India’s chances of qualifying for the tournament decider are now bleak.
Put into bat first, India got off to an abrupt start, losing KL Rahul and Virat Kohli before the end of 3 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma stitched a pivotal partnership with Suryakumar Yadav to steer the side out of trouble from the initial jolts. The duo added 97 runs with Rohit going all guns blazing against the Lankan blowers. The India skipper hammered 72 of 41 deliveries, including five boundaries and four maximums, before getting caught in the deep in the 13th over.
The fall of Rohit started a collapse in the Indian batting lineup and India could add only 63 runs off the last 7.4 overs.
While a partnership was breeding between Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant, the Lankan bowlers picked wickets at regular intervals to ensure a block on runs for Indians in the death overs.
India will play Afghanistan on Thursday, September 8, whereas Sri Lanka will clash with Pakistan on Friday on their way to the tournament decider.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here