SL vs IND | Twitter lauds clinical India for triumphing over Sri Lanka by 41 runs in low-scoring thriller

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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India sealed their spot in the Asia Cup final with a dominant victory in Colombo on Tuesday to end Sri Lanka's 13-match winning streak. Rohit Sharma's fifty along with crucial contributions in the middle order helped the side score 213 before some clinical bowling saw the Lions bundle out for 172.

Having opted to bat first after winning the toss, Rohit Sharma gave India a blistering start with a flurry of early boundaries. The Indian skipper raced to his third half-century on the trot, becoming the second fastest to go past 10,000 ODI runs in the process, as the Men in India's scoreboard read a formidable 65/0 at the end of the powerplay. However, once Shubman Gill departed for 19 in the 12th over, Rohit and Virat Kohli followed suit courtesy of a magical spell from Dunith Wellalage to leave India reeling at 91/3. Wicket-keeper batters KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan stabilized proceedings with a 63-run partnership for the fourth wicket, lasting 89, balls before Wellalage disrupted the party again by scalping Rahul for a 44-ball 39. The pitch, turning square and gripping fervently, meant Kishan had to dig in deep for his 33 compiled at a strike rate of 54, but his dismissal kickstarted a lower-order collapse for the visitors. From 170/4, the Men in Blue succumbed to 186/9, their saving grace being a 27-run partnership for the final wicket on either side of a rain interruption to post a competitive total of 213. Axar Patel proved to be key with a clever 26 while Wellalage managed to scalp a five-wicket haul and part-time spinner Charith Asalanka ended with dreamy figures of 9-1-18-4, making it the first time India lost all 10 wickets to spin in ODI history.

In response, India's spearhead Jasprit Bumrah struck early to send the in-form Pathum Nissanka back to the hut for 6 before adding to his tally by deceiving Kusal Mendis with a slow-wide yorker. Mohammed Siraj joined the party in the eighth over with Dimuth Karunaratne's wicket for a sluggish 2 off 18 deliveries, leaving the Lions in deep trouble at 25/3. Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickarama showed composure to steer the Lions into safer waters with a 43-run stand but were dismissed in quick succession by Kuldeep Yadav while Ravindra Jadeja added to the hosts' misery to have them down and out at 99/6. Yet, in a fascinating twist, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage appeared completely unfazed on a pitch that had proven to be unplayable for most batters, and put together a 63-run partnership to take Sri Lanka within touching distance of victory. The former eventually lost out on patience following a 66-ball 41 and the remaining 50 runs proved to be a tall task as they fell short by 41 runs even as Wellalage ended unbeaten on 42, while Kuldeep was the star turn with the ball with a four-wicket haul.  

The sheer happiness

Correct

Superb

Done and dusted

Lifeline

Onto the finals

It was fun

We are in finals

Team India ready

Wellalage <3

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