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Cricket

Asia Cup 2022: India loses by six wickets to Sri Lanka and faces elimination

Defending champions India are on the verge of elimination after a six-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in their Asia Cup super four stage encounter on Tuesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. As a result, the Men in Blue will be at the whims of the other teams in order to go to the final. It also meant that India skipper Rohit Sharma’s brilliant 41-ball 72 was in vain, as the islanders completed a 174-run chase with a ball to spare. Sri Lanka scored 14 runs off the last over thrown by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, nearly clinching the game in their favour.

Sri Lanka chose to bowl first. Dilshan Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana got early wickets, but Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne slowed the flow of runs for the Men in Blue in the last few overs. India reached 173/8 because to Rohit Sharma’s 41-ball 72. After Rohit was ousted, both Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant failed to pick up on India’s momentum. Hardik and Rishabh both scored 13-ball 17. Deepak Hooda, who was given another opportunity after failing in the last match against Pakistan, gave away his wicket for a 4-ball 3. Without Ashwin’s 7-ball 15, India may have gone well short of the score. India finished with a total of 173/7.

Sri Lanka made a 174-run target seem simple. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis put on a show, blasting a record-breaking 97 runs partnership. It was Sri Lanka’s greatest wicket partnership against India in T20Is. Nissanka hit a quick 37-ball 52 with four fours and two sixes.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka took the safe route and scored precisely what the scoreboard demanded. They put up an undefeated 64-run stand off 34 balls to send Sri Lanka home with one ball to spare. Rajapaksa finished undefeated on 25 off 17, while Shanaka made 33 off 18 balls.

Following the loss against SL, a sad Rohit Sharma stated during the post-match presentation, “We just ended up on the wrong side, as simple as that. We could have capitalized on the first half of our innings. We fell 10-15 runs short. The second half wasn’t good for us. The guys who were out in the middle can learn about what shots can be played. These things can happen. Losses like these will make us understand what works as a team.”

He added, “Since the last World Cup, we haven’t lost too many games. These games will teach us. We wanted to put ourselves under pressure in the Asia Cup. We are still looking for answers.”

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