Asia Cup T20 Match 7 Review: Virat Kohli continues his fine form as India claim another win

Virat Kohli smashed an impressive 56 as India claimed a 5-wicket win in the 7th match of the Asia Cup T20 2016. The Sri Lankans realized the importance of Lasith Malinga as they were beaten quite comprehensively by India. The loss now witnesses an extended slump from the Sri Lankans as they are now virtually out of the tournament. The loss also marks Sri Lanka’s second run on the spin in the tournament.

MS Dhoni called correctly and invited his counterpart, Angelo Mathews to have a bat first. The Lankans were dealt with a blow early on in the innings when they lost the in-form Dinesh Chandimal. Shehan Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan continued their batting slumps as they too were dismissed by Bumrah and Pandya respectively. The Lankans were in deep trouble when Angelo Mathews was knocked over by the impressive Hardik Pandya shortly after the 10 overs mark.

Chamara Kapugedera and Milinda Siriwardana staged an impressive fightback. Siriwardana, in particular, was merciless against the Indian spinners as he teed off. He smashed 22 off 17 balls before mistiming a carrom ball from Ravichandran Ashwin. Thisara Perera led a brief onslaught towards the end of the innings as the Lankans reached a competitive 138/7 in their 20 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Ravi Ashwin picked up 2 wickets apiece in yet another impressive bowling performance.

The India innings began with a Nuwan Kulasekara massacre. He first dismissed the returning Shikhar Dhawan. Rohit Sharma followed his opening partner back to the pavilion as he too was dismissed by the impressive Kulasekera. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina began a revival by rotating the strike and moving the ball around the park. The duo saw out the transition phase of the innings as they added 54 runs for the second wicket. Dasun Shanaka picked up a wicket with his first ball as he removed Suresh Raina for 25.

The Dhaka crowd was treated to a vintage performance from Yuvraj Singh as the latter rolled back the years with some big hitting. Virat, to his credit, gave the majority of the strike to Yuvraj. Thus, all the qualms regarding the form of the southpaw were quenched. Yuvraj struck 3 fours and 3 sixes en route to his 18-ball 35. A few hiccups towards the end forced Indian skipper MS Dhoni to once again grace the Dhaka crowd with a six. Virat Kohli whacked the ball into the mid-wicket boundary as the Indians clinched victory in style. Kohli ended unbeaten at 56, this is his 13th T20I and equalled the record for most fifties in the format.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka – 138/7 in 20 overs (Kapuegdera 30; Pandya 2/26)

India – 142/5 in 19.2 overs (Kohli 56*; Kulasekara 2/21)

Here are the talking points of the game – Asia Cup T20: India v Sri Lanka – 5 Talking Points