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Watch: India beat Sri Lanka by 41 runs in a Super Four match at the 2023 Asia Cup to qualify for the final. Watch the IND vs SL highlights.
Opting to bat at R Premadasa Stadium, Indian captain Rohit Sharma (53 in 48 balls, seven fours, two sixes) hit a six to become the second-quickest to 10,000 ODI runs. Rohit and fellow opener Shubman Gill added 80 in 11 overs.
Dunith Wellalage, only 20, then took centrestage, taking out Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit in the space of 13 balls as India slipped to 91-3.
Ishan Kishan (33) and KL Rahul (39) added 63, but there another collapse: Wellalage struck twice more to finish with 5-40, while Charith Asalanka – who had a solitary international wicket before the match – returned 4-18.
Axar Patel (26) eventually stretched the Indian total from 186-9 to 213. This was the 14th consecutive time that Sri Lanka bowled out an opposition in ODIs.
A typically fiery opening spell from Jasprit Bumrah (2-30) left Sri Lanka reeling at 25-3. After a brief fightback, Kuldeep Yadav (4-43) struck twice and Ravindra Jadeja (2-33) once, and Sri Lanka slid to 73-5, then 99-6.
Dhananjaya de Silva (41) and Wellalage (42 not out) then added 63 to take the attack back to the Indians. However, once the partnership ended, Kuldeep rounded things off quickly as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 172.
Wellalage was named the Player of the Match despite the outcome.
With four points from two matches (and a net run rate of +2.69), India have qualified for the final. Bangladesh, yet to get off the block after two matches, are out of contention. The September 15 clash between the two sides is, thus, a redundant affair.
The Sri Lanka-Pakistan clash on September 14, however, will be a virtual semi-final, as both teams have won one match out of two. However, Sri Lanka’s superior net run rate (-0.2) means that they will qualify ahead of Pakistan (-1.892) if the teams have to share points – for a tie, a no-result, or complete abandonment.
