India skittled Sri Lanka for just 50 in the Asia Cup final with Mohammed Siraj finishing with figures of 6-21, before wrapping up a 10-wicket win with 43.5 overs to spare.
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Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first on what quickly became a disastrous day for his side. Jasprit Bumrah claimed Kusal Perera with the second delivery of the match, a dismissal that set the tone for the carnage that followed.
Bumrah’s opening bowling partner Siraj sensationally took four wickets with his second over to leave Sri Lanka 12-5 after four overs. 12-5 became 12-6 an over and a half later when Siraj bowled Shanaka to claim a five-wicket haul after just 2.4 overs, a joint all-time record in ODI cricket with Chaminda Vaas.
Siraj then picked up his sixth wicket – bowling Kusal Mendis for 17 – before Hardik Pandya polished off the tail to finish with figures of 3-3. Siraj’s 6-21 are the second best figures ever recorded in the Asia Cup, behind Ajantha Mendis’ 6-8 against India in the 2008 final.
This was Sri Lanka’s second lowest ever score in ODI cricket – their record low remains their 43 all out against South Africa in Paarl in 2012. Sri Lanka’s innings lasted 15.2 overs, the shortest ever time in which a Full Member nation has been bowled out in an ODI. For India, Sri Lanka’s total was the lowest they have ever bowled out an opposition for, beating their previous record (58) achieved against Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2014, a game famous for Stuart Binny’s spell of 6-4.
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Binny’s 6-4 also happen to be the best figures recorded by an India bowler in a men’s ODI. His record was under serious threat when Siraj was on a roll before Pandya picked up the final three Sri Lanka wickets. Siraj’s 6-21 are now the fourth best men’s ODI figures for an Indian bowler, following Binny’s 6-4, Anil Kumble’s 6-12 against West Indies in 1993 and Bumrah’s 6-19 against England at The Oval last year.
India wasted little time in wrapping up victory, with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill racing to 51 in 6.1 overs to complete a ten-wicket win with 263 balls remaining. It is India’s biggest ODI win by that metric, and only one chasing team has completed a ten-wicket win with more time to spare – New Zealand, against Bangladesh at Queenstown in 2007.
The entire game lasted just 21.3 overs, making it the third shortest completed men’s ODI in history.