Plucky Sri Lanka leave India on the brink of elimination
Sri Lanka produced a spirited performance with both ball and bat to put one foot into the 2022 Asia Cup Final. Their victory over India, chasing 173, with a ball and six wickets to spare despite a middle-overs stutter that saw them lose 4 for 13 left the holders on the brink of elimination.
A target of 174 could have proved tricky without a good start and Sri Lanka had the pair of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis to thank for a 97-run opening stand. The duo did well to take their time at the start of the chase with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh getting a hint of swing. Thereafter, on a pitch that had improved from the time Dasun Shanaka opted to bowl, the pair found it in them to hit through the line and over the in-fields.
Arshdeep Singh found that slower balls were no longer stopping on the batters as they had been for parts of the Indian innings and was taken apart for 18 in the fifth over. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled the last over of the PowerPlay and was crashed through the covers by Nissanka and lofted over his head for a six by Mendis. Sri Lanka had 57 in the PowerPlay and after another six each off Chahal and R. Ashwin, they had crept up effortlessly to 89 at the end of 10 overs with Nissanka completing a 33-ball half-century and Mendis on his way to reaching the milestone off the exact same number of deliveries.
From 97/0 at the end of 11 overs and a position of complete control, Sri Lanka lost 4 for 13 as Chahal brought India storming back into the contest. The procession began when Nissanka reverse-swept the legspinner straight to backward point. In the same over, Charith Asalanka miscued a slog-sweep and holed out. Ashwin had Danushka Gunathilaka caught at long off before Chahal trapped Mendis in front of his stumps with a slider.
Mendis’s dismissal left Sri Lanka needing 64 off 35 deliveries and 11 of those were to be bowled by Ashwin and Chahal. Bhanuka Rajapaksa hit two off them for sixes – a slog sweep off Chahal and a step-out-and-swing off Ashwin. Those two hits brought the equation down to a more gettable 42 off 24. India had an over of Hardik Pandya to bowl in the final three and Rohit chose him to bowl the 18th. Shanaka found an outside edge for four and then nailed a pull over fine-leg for six. Bhuvneshwar was once again entrusted to bowl the 19th and couldn’t nail his wide yorkers and his 14-run over left Arshdeep to defend seven. The young left-arm seamer did well to take the game to the penultimate ball, unfurling a slew of yorkers but an overthrow saw Sri Lanka over the line.
Left-arm pace and spin proved to be India’s undoing in the last T20 World Cup on these shores and so it proved again when they were put into bat. Dasun Shanaka used both these varieties to start the innings and offie Maheesh Theekshana struck in the second over when he drifted one into an advancing KL Rahul and hit him full on the boot. DRS upheld the umpire’s call despite inconclusive evidence of a possible bat-on-ball situation.
India were then reduced to 13/2 in the next over when Virat Kohli fell for a four-ball duck. He was setup well by the left-armer Dilshan Madushanka who stationed two slips, left mid-wicket open and bowled one that came in with the angle. Kohli’s attempts at a swipe across the line connected with thin air and his stumps were re-arranged.
India recovered thanks to Rohit Sharma staying true to the batting doctrine he and the management has imposed on the team. A pulled six and a cut four of Asita Fernando in a 14-run fifth over got India going. Another heave past backward square leg off Theekshana gave India a respectable 44/2 after 6 overs.
The excellence of Rohit’s innings was down to how he allowed Suryakumar Yadav to get into his innings without that costing the team runs in the middle. He targeted the inexperienced seamer Asita Fernando, who conceded 28 off his two overs. Rohit also took on Wanindu Hasaranga, who matches up positively against him, and hit him for a pair of sixes and a four in the 12th over.
From 110/3 at the time of Rohit’s dismissal for a 41-ball 72, India lost their way somewhat thanks in large parts to good Sri Lankan bowling. Shanaka filling in for the struggling Asita’s two overs dismissed Suryakumar (34 off 29) with a slower bouncer and then had Hardik Pandya caught in the deep with a whip-flick. Despite scoring 38 from the final four overs, the pair of Madushanka and Chamika Karunaratne kept India to a score that was about 15-20 short of where they were headed. India have a game against Afghanistan but will officially stand eliminated if Pakistan beat Afghanistan tomorrow.
Brief scores:
India 173/8 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 72, Suryakumar Yadav 34; Dilshan Madushanka 3-24, Chamika Karunaratne 2-27) lost to Sri Lanka 174/4 in 19.5 overs (Kusal Mendis 57, Pathum Nissanka 52; Yuzvendra Chahal 3-34) by six wickets.
(Cricbuzz)
