Rohit Sharma-led India qualified for the Asia Cup 2023 final with a comfortable 41-run win over Sri Lanka in their second Super Fours clash at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Kuldeep Yadav took a four-fer as India emerged victoriously in a low-scoring affair despite Dunith Wellalage’s all-round show including his maiden fifer in the format.
In the run chase, Sri Lanka lost their opener Pathum Nissanka early. Coming from around the wicket, Bumrah bowled a delivery that straightened up and took an outside edge to land in Rahul's gloves. A few overs later, Bumrah got the better of Kusal Mendis who handed an easy catch to substitute fielder Suryakumar Yadav. In the next over, Mohammed Siraj ended Dimuth Karunaratne's troubled stray at the crease. Karunaratne flashed his bat a delivery and got caught in the slips by Shubman Gill.
Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama tried to get the run chase back on track. Asalanka got a reprieve when Ishan Kishan dropped his catch. Kuldeep Yadav broke the partnership in the 18th over. Samarawickrama got out stumped as Rahul's advice to Kuldeep during the break worked. In his next over, Kuldeep got the wicket of Asalanka, as Rahul, took a brilliant catch. Sri Lanka lost half their side for 73 in the 20th over.
Ravindra Jadeja in his fifth over got the wicket of Dasun Shanaka. Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva steadied the ship with their partnership. After doing the damage with the ball, Wellalage hit Kuldeep for the first six of the innings. The partnership was broken by Jadeja in the 38th over. Silva tried to take him on but could not clear the mid-on fielder Gill. He departed after scoring 41 runs from 66 balls. Silva and Wellalage shared a 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
Maheesh Theekshana tried to play the supporting role but pressure got the better of him. Substitute Suryakumar took his catch off Hardik Pandya's bowling. Kasun Rajitha could not last long in the middle. In his last over, Kuldeep got the wicket of Rajitha with a googly. In the same over, he got the wicket of Pathirana to wrap up the proceedings. His four-fer helped India bowl out Sri Lanka for 172 with 45 balls left in the innings. India won the match by 41 runs.
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to bat first. India got off to an ideal start. Gill played second fiddle to Rohit who smashed the bowlers around the park. With a six in the seventh over, Rohit completed 10,000 ODI runs and became the second-fastest to achieve the feat. He also became the leading six-hitter in ODI Asia Cup history. The opening partnership was broken by Wellalage in the 12th over. Gill got bowled as Wellalage produced a perfect delivery turning away and hitting the off stump. He scored 19 runs from 25 balls in the 80-run partnership.
In the next over, Rohit got to his half-century with a boundary. He took 44 deliveries to reach his fifty. Virat Kohli got off the mark with a couple of runs. Rohit and Kohli became the fastest pair to 5,000 ODI runs. Kohli played a loose shot and got caught at short midwicket. In his third over, Wellalage got the wicket of Rohit as the ball kept low and hit the leg stump. The opener scored 53 runs from 48 balls including seven fours and a couple of sixes.
Rahul negotiated well against the spinners while Kishan took his time. Just when he was looking to accelerate, Wellalage got the wicket of Rahul. He scored 39 runs off 44 balls. With two left-handed batters in the middle, Shanaka stuck with Asalanka. The part-time spinner did not disappoint and got the prized wicket of Kishan. He scored 33 runs from 61 balls. Wellalage off the last ball of his quota of 10 overs, completed his fifer with the wicket of Pandya.
Jadeja struggled to score and became Asalanka's second victim. In his seventh over, Asalanka got the wicket of Bumrah and Kuldeep off consecutive deliveries. Wellalage became the youngest Sri Lankan to take a fifer in ODIs. Rain played spoilsport after the 47th over. Axar Patel's cameo took India to 213. Theekshana got the last wicket as India got bowled out with five balls left in the innings. This was the 14th consecutive ODI, and Sri Lanka bowled out their opposition. Also, this is the first time India lost all of their 10 wickets in an ODI to spinners.
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