It was yet another disappointing night for India at Dubai International Cricket stadium. Sri Lanka beat India in a thriller match on Tuesday, September 6 in their Asia Cup Super 4’s match by six wickets. Sri Lanka chased down a 174 run target set up by team India with even one ball to spare. Kusal Mendis top-scored with 57 runs while his opening partner Pathum Nissanka and Dasun Shanaka, the captain, contributed 52 and 33 not out respectively. From the Indian side, Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets for 34 runs while Ravichandran Ashwin got one of the total four wickets. Earlier, invited to bat, India posted 173/8 in the 20 over game. Rohit Sharma top-scored with a 72 run score off 41 balls while Suryakumar Yadav contributed 34 runs in the target. For Sri Lanka, the main wicket takers were Dilshan Madushanka (3/24), Chamika Karunaratne (2/27) and Dasun Shanaka (2/26).
Playing 11 of team India
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Playing 11 of team Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando,Madushan and Dilshan Madushanka.
Dasun Shanaka, captain of Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first and the Indian team had to bat first. The Islanders came into this match unchanged, while India left out Ravi Bishnoi, who was impressive against Pakistan, to bring in Ashwin into the XI. However, Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka ensured that India had a bad start as the spinner got rid of KL Rahul for 6 and the left-arm pacer dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck. Then Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav (34) added 97 runs for the third wicket when the Indian skipper fell out. Rohit Sharma made 72 in 41 balls with 4 sixes and 5 fours. However, after that the Sri Lankan bowlers tightened the grip as Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya (17 each) both got out when India needed them to score the most quickly. Ravi Ashwin made 15* with a six as India finished on 173/8, at least 20-25 runs short of what they would have appreciated. For Sri Lanka, Madushanka picked 3/24, while Chamika Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka took two wickets each.
The Sri Lankan team knew how important this match was for them and for India and they went after the Indian bowlers from the very beginning of the match.
Can India move to the next stage?
Although it seems nearly impossible, India will have to rely on Afghanistan for victory against Pakistan with a good huge margin. After Pakistan’s defeat, India will have to defeat Afghanistan in their next game on Thursday and wait for Sri Lanka to beat Pakistan with a good huge margin.
