Asia Cup (Super Four), Sri Lanka beat India: Key takeaways
Sri Lanka seized an enthralling six-wicket win over India in Super Four of the Asia Cup. Batting first, Team India rode on Rohit Sharma's 72 to pile up a respectable total (173/8). For SL, left-armer Dilshan Madushanka (3/24) was the stand-out bowler. Openers Kusal Mendis (57) and Pathum Nissanka (52) laid the foundation for the chase to steer home (174/4). Here are the takeaways.
Rohit plays a captain's knock
Rohit was timing the ball well as he raced to a 41-ball 72. The talented stroke maker struck five fours and four sixes before finding the fielder on Chamika Karunaratne's cutter. He equaled Virat Kohli in terms of most fifty-plus scores by a batter in T20Is (32). He also fetched a 97-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav to steady Team India after early collapses.
Rohit aces the show on individual front
Rohit has become the first cricketer to breach the 3,600-run mark (3,620) in T20Is. He now holds the record for most sixes by a batter in T20Is while batting first (105), trumping Martin Guptill (101). Rohit (1,016) usurped Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (971) as India's highest run-getter in Asia Cup. He is now the leading six-hitter in Asia Cup (29), surpassing Shahid Afridi (26).
Madushanka routs the Indian batters
Left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka turned out to be the pick of Sri Lanka's bowlers. He kept pulling back his length and garnered movement too. He took three wickets for just 24 runs in four overs. Madushanka removed Kohli before getting rid of both Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda in his final over. The Lankan pacer conceded just four runs in his last over.
Another dismal show from Rahul
After a string of poor knocks since his international return, KL Rahul had given a glimpse of getting back his mojo in the last fixture, having struck a 20-ball 28. However, the effect was short-lived as he was dismissed cheaply versus SL. His scores in the tournament read 0(1), 36(39), 28(20), and 6(7). A prolific run-getter, Rahul has to shrug off his shoddy run.
An uneventful night for Kohli
Kohli, who slammed back-to-back fifties ahead of this duel, recorded a four-ball duck. He was knocked over by an in-swinger from Madushanka. Kohli failed to open his account against SL for the first time in T20Is. Before today, his lowest T20I score against the Lankans was 26. Notably, Kohli registered his 33rd duck for India in international cricket and fourth in T20I.
Lankan openers rampaged in PP overs
Mendis and Nissanka didn't find the Indian attack troubling as they plundered 57 runs in the PP overs, with runs incoming from the second over. The duo bashed 18 runs off Arshdeep Singh, followed by 12 runs off Yuzvendra Chahal to wind up the PP. As per Cricbuzz, this was only the third instance for SL openers scoring 50-plus runs in a T20I inning.
Chahal puts SL under the pump
Despite conceding 23 runs in the first two overs, Chahal bounced back in style. Bowling the 13th over, the leg-spinner got the better of Nissanka, and Charith Asalanka (0) followed soon. He conceded just a solitary run, followed by a wicket and 10 runs in the 15th over, reducing SL to 120/4. Chahal (3/34) also completed 200 international wickets (201), averaging 25.54.
