Asia Cup 2022: Super Four - Match 3 - India vs Sri Lanka: Who Said What

Sri Lanka beat India to register an important Super-Four win in the ninth 2022 Asia Cup clash on Tuesday. Once again India put a big total on the board while batting first, with skipper Rohit Sharma smashing a fifty. But bowlers failed to defend the total as Sri Lanka snatched a memorable win with six wickets and a ball remaining at the Dubai International Stadium.

Rohit lost the toss again and was forced to bat first. Sri Lanka remained unchanged but India made one change to their playing eleven with the veteran spinner Ravi Ashwin replacing Ravi Bishnoi. India lost opener KL Rahul with just 11 runs on the scoreboard in the second over. Then in-form batter Virat Kohli joined Rohit at the middle but lasted only four balls. Right-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka castled Kohli on duck in the third over to put pressure on India.

But the next batter Suryakumar Yadav stabilized the fall and formed a brilliant 97-run partnership with Rohit for the third wicket. Rohit after struggling for big knocks in the first three matches smashed 72 runs off just 41 balls before getting caught out on Chamika Karunaratne's delivery in the 13th over. Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka removed Suryakumar Yadav in the 15th over who scored crucial 34 runs.

Indian bowlers continue to struggle in UAE:

India failed to form any meaningful partnerships in the last five overs as middle order batters Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, and Rishabh Pant failed again to make big impact. Ashwin smashed unbeaten 15 runs off seven balls to guide India to a respectable 173/8 total. For Sri Lanka, Madushanka took three and Shanaka and Karunaratne grabbed two wickets each.

Unlike India, Pathum Nissanka (52) and Kusal Mendis (57) gave Sri Lanka a flying start and formed a defining 97-run partnership for the opening wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed both the players and Charith Asalanka to get India back in the game. Sri Lanka were struggling at 110/4 and India seemed destined for a big victory.

But once again, Shanaka (33*) played a captain's knock and formed an unbeaten 64-run partnership with Bhanuka Rajapaksa (25*). Indian pacer struggled to defend the runs in the death overs as Sri Lanka reached the target with a ball remaining. India next face Afghanistan in their last Super-Four clash on September 8 and Sri Lanka clash against Pakistan on the next day.

Losing Captain, Rohit Sharma:

We ended up on the wrong side, just as simple as that. The kind of runs we got, we could have capitalised a bit more. We were 10-15 runs short. The guys out in the middle need to learn what they need to do and what kind of shot-making can happen, This team was on a good run for a long time, such losses will help us better to learn as a team. It was a good effort with the ball, considering the start they got. The spinners came out and bowled quite aggressively. In the end, SL held their nerves quite well. [Three seamers?] We thought with the bigger boundary, you can use the spin well. Their right-handers batted for longer periods of time. I was thinking of bringing Hooda but it did not work out the way we thought. Avesh has not pulled up that well.

Winning Captain and Player of the Match, Dasun Shanaka:

The environment in the team set the tone. It is what gave us the confidence. The batting unit won it for us. The bowlers bowled well in patches, Dilshan and Theekshana in particular. The Indian batsmen came hard, but we did well to keep them to 173. We had a good dicussion after the first game. We know what we can do in this tournament. Pathum and Mendis set the tone for us, and then Rajapaksa and me finished it off. Due to the team combination, Chamika bowls four overs for us, and that is why I don't have to bowl my full quota of overs. I just have to take decisions on the basis of what the team needs.