In the current Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here on Tuesday, Sri Lanka put on a clinical display to defeat India by six wickets and take the top spot in the Super Four table, negating Rohit Sharma's brilliant effort.
This was Sri Lanka's second victory in the Super Four stage after defeating Afghanistan, and they are almost certain to go to the Asia Cup final. India, on the other hand, suffered their second straight defeat and is now in danger of being eliminated. If Pakistan defeats Afghanistan on Wednesday, India will be eliminated from the competition.
India's captain Rohit Sharma's aggressive innings (72 off 41) propelled the team to a difficult 173-8 in 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav (34 off 29) was India's second-highest scorer after Rohit, although they would have liked to see more from their lower-order batters.
The leading wicket-takers for Sri Lanka were Dilshan Madushanka (3/24), Chamika Karunaratne (2/27), and Dasun Shanaka (2/26).
Kusal Mendis (57 off 37) and Pathum Nissanka (52 off 37) provided Sri Lanka a head start in their pursuit of a difficult total. Both Nissanka and Mendis batted wisely. In the opening two overs, when both Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep found some swing, they played cautiously. Following that, they were carefree and scored 57 runs in the first six overs for Sri Lanka.
They kept up the fine work even after the powerplay, putting together a 97-run opening stand before Nissanka was caught behind by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in 11.1 overs. When Asalanka, who was out of form, top-edged a slog sweep, India found themselves surprisingly still in the match.
Then, Ashwin eliminated the effective Gunathilaka who had been caught at long-off. India began to gradually enter this game, and Chahal used his slider to catch Mendis just in front of the stumps. Bhanuka Rajapaksa (25 unbeaten off 17) nevertheless, smashed a six off of Chahal and Ashwin to put Sri Lanka back in the game.
Hardik received the 18th from Rohit and scored 12 runs off the over. Bhuvneshwar was once again trusted to bowl the 19th over for India because Sri Lanka needed to score 21 runs off of 12; however, he was unable to nail his wide yorkers, leaving Arshdeep with only seven runs to defend.
The youthful left-arm seamer did well to force a tie with his string of yorkers on the last ball, but Dasun Shanaka (33 not out off 18) and Rajapaksa maintained their composure to lead Sri Lanka to victory in 19.5 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin each grabbed three wickets for India, totaling 34 runs.
When India was given the opportunity to bat first, they got off to a shaky start, losing K.L. Rahul (6) and Virat Kohli (0) inside the first three overs. When 2.4 overs, India was in trouble at 13-2 after Maheesh Theekshana first caught Rahul on a swinging delivery and then pacer Dilshan Madushanka dismissed Kohli for a four-ball duck.
Despite losing the wickets, skipper Rohit Sharma chose to counterattack in accordance with the batting philosophy he and the management have instilled on the team. After six overs, India had reached 44/2 after the opener had hammered Asita Fernando for 14 runs.
Premier Rohit destroyed Sri Lankan spinner Hasaranga, smashing him for two sixes and a four to give him an 18-run over despite his lack of effectiveness. Finally, Sri Lanka made the crucial breakthrough when Chamika Karunaratne bowled Rohit out for 72 on a short ball.
When Rohit was dismissed with the score at 110/3 after 12.2 overs, India appeared to be on track for a good finish, but the wickets didn't start falling like flies. The onus was on Hardik Pandya (17) and Rishabh Pant (17) to finish brilliantly for India after Suryakumar got out while playing an intuitive ramp shot, but they both got out at key moments.
Brief Scores: India 173 for 8 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 72, Suryakumar Yadav 34; Dilshan Madushanka 3/24, Dasun Shanaka 2/26) lost to Sri Lanka 174-4 in 19.5 Overs (Kusal Mendis 57, Pathum Nissanka 52; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/34) by 6 wickets