India piled up 202 for 5 in their 20 overs against Sri Lanka in the final Super Four fixture of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The match, effectively a dead rubber, followed India’s confirmation of a place in Sunday’s final after their 41-run win over Bangladesh on Wednesday. Pakistan then joined them by edging Bangladesh by 11 runs on Thursday.
Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka opted to bowl first after winning the toss, making one change — Janith Liyanage replacing Chamika Karunaratne. India, meanwhile, rested Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube, handing opportunities to Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh.
Shubman Gill departed early, caught and bowled by Maheesh Theekshana for 4 in just the second over. Captain Suryakumar Yadav fell for 12 off 13, but not before sharing a brisk 59-run stand with Abhishek Sharma. India were ruthless in the powerplay, smashing 71 runs in the first six overs.
Abhishek carried on his rich vein of form, blasting 61 off 31 balls before falling to Asalanka in the ninth over. His knock also set a new milestone — he surpassed both Virat Kohli and Mohammad Rizwan to become the highest run-scorer in a single T20 Asia Cup edition. Rizwan had scored 281 runs in six matches in 2022, while Kohli managed 276 in five.
Later, Sanju Samson (39 off 23), Tilak Varma (49* off 34) and Axar Patel (21* off 15) added valuable late runs to power India past the 200 mark — the first 200+ total of this tournament. They managed 52 runs in the last five overs.
For Sri Lanka, Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka and Asalanka each claimed a wicket.
LND/NE
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