Asia Cup 2023: Rating Teams based on their bowling in the tournament

2. Sri Lanka- 7/10

Sri Lanka came into the tournament having lost the services of their two fastest bowlers Samantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara and then Dilshan Madushanka also got injured. They had rested Wanindu Hasaranga who had a niggle as well. 

Depending on their batting prowess, Sri Lanka managed to get into the Super 4s with wins over Afghanistan and Bangladesh. They began Super 4s by defeating Bangladesh by 21 runs and knocking them out of the race for the finals. But in their next match, despite bowling out India for 213, Sri Lanka couldn’t chase the runs against the potent spin of Kuldeep Yadav and lost by 41 runs. 

In a must-win game against Pakistan for a spot in the final, Sri Lanka played their best cricket on the day when their bowling and batting came well and they qualified for the final with a last-Ballwin. But in the final, they suffered the ultimate humiliation in front of thousands of local support. India bowled them out for 50 runs after Dasun Shanaka chose to bat and then chased down the total with 10 wickets in hand.

But looking back, it was an excellent performance from the Sri Lankan team who were missing their best bowlers. They also had a captain who wasn’t performing with the bat and the ball. And yet, they still were spirited enough to reach the final.