Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka pull off thrilling chase to put curtains on India's finals hopes

Sri Lanka handed India their second consecutive defeat to take the top position in the points table.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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4 Min Read

Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka
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Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka (Photo Source: Twitter)

It was a crucial fixture for both the teams, but majorly for India as the Men in Blue had started off their Super Four stage with a disappointing loss against Pakistan, whereas on the other hand, Sri Lanka was resting on top of the points table with a win against Afghanistan. India failed to defend their score in the do-or-die game as Sri Lanka chased down the target to put an end to India’s Asia Cup finals hopes and won the game by six wickets.

Winning the toss, Sri Lanka put India to bat first. It was not an ideal start for the Men in Blue as India lost two quick wickets within the first three overs of the powerplay. First, it was KL Rahul who walked off scoring mere six runs off seven deliveries. Then, India suffered a major blow when the in-form Virat Kohli was dismissed for a four-ball duck by Dilshan Madushanka.

It was the skipper Rohit Sharma who anchored India’s innings after the two early wickets, and Suryakumar Yadav assisted him well. The duo stitched up a 97-run stand for the third wicket with Sharma carrying out the fireworks. The skipper walked off scoring a well-composed 72(41), but the Indian middle order batters failed to capitalize on the momentum that he had set.

Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, and Rishabh Pant failed to play an impressive knock and gave away their wickets cheaply. While Pandya and Pant had tried to fire, poor choice of shot put forth back-to-back celebrations for the Sri Lankan bowlers. Ashwin’s six in the final over helped India get some runs towards the end and post 173/8. As for Sri Lanka, Madushanka picked up three wickets while Chamika Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka scalped two wickets each.

India's mistakes prove costly as Sri Lanka take the advantage

Sri Lanka got off to a dream start during their chase as opening batters Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis shared a massive 97-run stand and kept their side in the driving seat. It was Yuzvendra Chahal who got India the first breakthrough by dismissing Nissanka for a 37-ball 52 in the 12th over. Chahal struck again in the same over and sent Charith Asalanka walking for a three-ball duck as his poor form with the bat continued.

Mendis kept going and continued to strike after the third wicket fell for Sri Lanka. It was a spinners’ day out in the second innings as Ravi Ashwin scalped his first wicket in the form of Danushka Gunathilaka. Chahal finished his final over of the spell by adding the third wicket under his belt and dished out the in-form Mendis for a 37-ball 57.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa and skipper Dasun Shanaka, the middle-order batters, capitalized on the momentum and kept the game going as they found the gaps on regular intervals to send the ball towards the fence. A handful of errors by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the penultimate over helped Sri Lanka to cut short their chase massively and bring the game down to the final over.

Arshdeep Singh was given charge of the ball in the last over and had the big task of defending seven runs off it. The youngster bowled brilliantly, and the game came down to the penultimate delivery of the game when Lankans needed two runs to win. After a brilliant delivery by Arshdeep, Rishabh Pant's mistake cost India the game as Sri Lanka took an extra run due to the overthrow and finished off their chase with just a ball to spare.

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