INDIA QUALIFY FOR ASIA CUP FINAL
The pitch was dry. Dunith Wellalage, the allrounder, could not put a foot wrong. Charith Asalanka, a part-time offie, came to the party. So did India’s more accomplished tweakers. But in a low-scoring affair, it was India’s opening combination with the bat and the ball that turned out to be the difference between the sides.
Riding on captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s 80-run stand and a fiery spell from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj up front, India broke Sri Lanka’s 13-match unbeaten streak with a convincing 41-run win. The win meant it had one foot in Sunday’s Asia Cup final, with two games remaining in the Super Fours stage.With a dry surface in offing, adjacent to the one used for India’s clash versus Pakistan that turned out to be a two-day affair, both the teams had packed their line-ups with spinners. Shardul Thakur was thus replaced with Axar Patel in India’s team. Axar did help India cross the 200-run mark with sensible batting towards the end but had it not been for Rohit’s charge in the Powerplay, India could have struggled to get anywhere near the total it received.Rohit’s lazy elegance was on display time and again, be it in a crisp drive off Kasun Rajitha in the opening over or his straight six over the pacer’s head that helped the veteran become the second-fastest to 10,000 ODI runs
