Unstoppable India in final

Mirpur, India rode on fine knocks by Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets and enter the final of the Asia Cup here today. Coming in after the fall of Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli anchored the innings with an unbeaten half-century as India overhauled the 139-run target with four balls to spare. The Delhi lad remained not out on 56, while Yuvraj produced a power-packed innings, hitting 35 runs off 18 balls with three boundaries and an equal number of sixes.
The Indian run chase got off to a rocky start with openers Dhawan and Rohit Sharma departing early. But Kohli and Suresh Raina brought the innings back on track with a 54- run partnership. Dasun Shanaka broke the partnership when he dismissed Raina for 25.
Yuvraj strode in and began plundering the Lankan attack straightaway with some powerful hits. The veteran left-hander carried India within a sniffing distance of the target before Perera dismissed him with a bouncer. Hardik Pandya followed Yuvraj back to the pavilion in the next over, but MS Dhoni and Kohli saw India home without any further hiccups.
Earlier, Sri Lanka produced a competitive total of 138/9 in their 20 overs.
Put in to bat on a greenish pitch, the Sri Lankan batsmen never settled down. They suffered an early setback when opener Dinesh Chandimal was caught behind off Nehra’s bowling while attempting a big hit. Bumrah piled on the pressure in the next over by removing Shehan Jayasuriya. Dhoni’s decision to bring Pandya into the attack brought immediate results as the all-rounder got rid of dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan with his very first ball. He then dismissed Angelo Mathews to push Lanka deeper into trouble. Thisara Perera (17) and Kulasekara (13 not out) came up with a few big hits towards the end to take their team to a competitive total.
For India, promising all-rounder Pandya (2/26), off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/26) and young pacer Jasprit Bumrah (2/27) took two wickets each. Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra (1/22), who bowled an excellent opening spell, also got a wicket.
their take…
Yuvi’s knock was critical
I think consistent performance is very important. In the last 9-10 T20s we have played, we have done well. It was good to see a few of the others contributing as well. Yuvraj Singh’s innings was crucial, not just for this match but for the team as well, good to see him get into some good form — MS Dhoni
Good challenge
Another crunch situation, 16 for 2. It’s nice to challenge yourself. I knew I’m striking the ball well, so I have to take the pressure off the other batsman by hitting the odd boundary, but it has to be a cricketing shot — Virat Kohli
Needed those hits
Felt pretty good. I needed those hits for my confidence. It was not the easiest wicket to bat on, you need to go there and give yourself some time. My job was to go and play the situation, this game and the last game. Just happy I’m hitting the ball well — Yuvraj Singh
Scoreboard
Sri Lanka
Chandimal c Dhoni b Nehra 4
Dilshan c Ashwin b Pandya 18
Jayasuriya c Dhoni b Bumrah 3
Kapugedera c Pandya b Bumrah 30
Mathews b Pandya 18
Siriwardana c Raina b Ashwin 22
Shanaka run out 1
Perera st Dhoni b Ashwin 17
Kulasekara not out 13
Chameera not out 2
Extras (LB-5, W-4, NB-1) 10
Total (for 8 wickets in 20 overs) 138
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-15, 3-31, 4-57, 5-100, 6-104, 7-105, 8-125
Bowling
Nehra 4-0-23-1
Bumrah 4-0-27-2
Pandya 4-0-26-2
Yuvraj 1-0-3-0
Jadeja 2-0-19-0
Ashwin 4-0-26-2
Raina 1-0-9-0
India
Dhawan c Chandimal b Kulasekara 1
Rohit c Kapugedera b Kulasekara 15
Kohli not out 56
Raina c Kulasekara b Shanaka 25
Yuvraj c Kulasekara b Perera 35
Pandya b Herath 2
Dhoni not out 7
Extras (W-1) 1
Total (for 5 wkts in 19.2 overs) 142
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-16, 3-70, 4-121, 5-125
Bowling
Mathews 3-0-16-0
Kulasekara 3-0-21-2
Perera 4-0-32-1
Chameera 4-0-27-0
Herath 3.2-0-26-1
Shanaka 1-0-7-1
Siriwardana 1-0-13-0

Comments

comments