'He was just bowling slower balls...': Ravichandran Ashwin slams Harshit Rana for making 'amateurish' mistakes against Sri Lanka

Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin feels that Harshit Rana made quite a few mistakes in the Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka. This was just Harshit's second appearance in the tournament and he wasn't really able to contribute much for the side in the bowling department. Though he did get the massive wicket of Pathum Nissanka in the final over of Sri Lanka's innings, he also ended up being quite expensive and gave away 54 runs in his four-over spell.

Ashwin labelled Harshit's mistakes as 'amateurish' and remarked that even though it is not easy to perform after missing consecutive games, the pacer could done far better.

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“I just want to speak about Harshit Rana. He has played a few games. He hasn’t played a few games. It isn’t easy to play one match and then sit out. It could really be flattening for your confidence and also be a bit rusty," Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.

“But the mistakes made by Harshit against Sri Lanka were really amateurish. I thought the game was done in the power play, but India made a stellar comeback after that. Harshit Rana was cranking up the speed. He hit him on the head and then he followed it up with a slower ball. Nissanka played it beautifully. Harshit Rana was just bowling slower balls after delivering a fast-paced delivery," he added.

India's thrilling win over Sri Lanka

Meanwhile, despite a poor bowling display, India managed to scrape victory over Sri Lanka in the Super Over. The Lankan Lions batted incredibly well and managed to tie the match even after being given a daunting target of 203 to chase. Arshdeep Singh showcased his brilliance in the Super Over by not only picking up two wickets, but also giving away just two runs in five deliveries. The Men in Blue chased down the target on the first delivery itself and continued their unbeaten run in the tournament.

India to lock horns against Pakistan

Suryakumar Yadav & Co. will now be facing-off arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on September 28. This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the tournament and it will be the most important one of them all. It remains to be seen if India will defeeat Pakistan for a third consecutive time in the competition or if the latter will turn the tide in the penultimate game.