Asia Cup 2023 Final: India bring home 8th Asia Cup after defeating Sri Lanka in finals

India won a record eighth Asia Cup trophy. The Rohit Sharma-led team knocked out Sri Lanka for 50 runs after captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bat, thanks to Siraj’s 6 for 21 in 7 overs.

By scooping up a five-wicket haul in the first six overs of the encounter, Mohammed Siraj knocked Sri Lanka to its knees. Jasprit Bumrah took a wicket on the third delivery, while Siraj just ripped the top off the opposition’s batting lineup by grabbing four wickets in the fourth over alone. He then returned and bowled Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka, completing his five-wicket haul in his second over. Sri Lanka were consequently left reeling at 12/6 after 5.4 overs.

The horror for the home team continued as Siraj set a new record of 6/21, the greatest by any bowler in an ODI against Sri Lanka. Hardik Pandya took three wickets, ending Sri Lanka’s innings with two wickets in the first two deliveries of the 16th over. Sri Lanka were all out for 50, their second lowest ODI score.

Rohit decided to let Ishan Kishan and the in-form Shubman Gill bat in the middle. And the duo didn’t let up, with Kishan hitting the first ball of the seventh pitch to long-off for a single to complete the formalities just 27 minutes into the game.

Rohit Sharma: “It was a great performance, especially to come and play like that in a final. Shows the mentality of the team. Our seamers are actually working really hard for many years, so it’s pleasing for the side to see them rewarded like that. Very clinical. A performance like that will be cherished for a very long time. I never thought the ball was going to be doing that much, again it comes back to the skillset of the individuals. That’s very rare, you don’t see many guys who can move it in the air and off the pitch. And the other guys also who took part at various stages, they all played their part. We took all we can from this series, quite pleasing to move in this direction with this kind of confidence. The first game against Pakistan under pressure 4 down, how Hardik and Kishan batted in that pressure got us to that total. And then KL and Virat getting that hundred was brilliant to see. Also Gill, he’s in terrific form, he’s a batting freak. He likes to keep batting and it’s something that works for our team. A lot of the guys at various stages bailed the team out in pressure situations.”

Dasun Shanaka: “It was an outstanding display of bowling from Siraj, credit to him how he approached the game. I thought it would be a good pitch for the batters, but the overcast conditions played a part and it was a tough, tough day. Of course the application could have been better, could’ve tightened our technique a bit to settle down and free our arms in the middle period. Positive takeaway is how Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis batted in the middle period in spinning conditions, as well as the way Charith Asalanka batted and he’s handling that pressure well. In Indian conditions these three will perform well and score heavily. Also Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana and the two other fast bowlers as well in Kasun Rajitha and Pramod Madushan, I think they will do well in the coming World Cup. Without five main players, the good thing is we came to the final playing good sides. It’s a good sign from where we began two years ago. At last I would like to thank the fans who came in numbers, really sorry that we disappointed to you. We as cricketers really love you. And congratulations to the Indian team for the brand of cricket they’re playing.”