Sri Lanka vs. India Asia Cup 2023 Final
Sri Lanka vs. India Asia Cup 2023 Final On September 17, at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka and India competed in the Asia Cup 2023 final. Mohammad Siraj had other ideas than what a close encounter was meant to entail.He bowled the most magnificent spell of his career, and India won their 8th Asia Cup title. So, we will look at what happened during the most anticipated final between the two Asian giants below.
Toss and Pitch Report
Sri Lanka vs. India Asia Cup 2023 Final Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, which was a great choice because they had a good bowling unit and in-form batters. Maheesh Theekshana was ruled out due to an injury, so Dushanth Hemantha was included in the playing 11. Whereas Axar Patel was also ruled out for India, Washington Sundar replaced him. The pitch was perfect for the batters. They could score well; on the other side, bowlers, with their excellent line and length, could also get assistance from the pitch. So, the pitch behaves very well for the bowlers and the batters. Teams winning the toss chose to bat first because the projected score is almost 233, which can be defended here; this is why Sri Lanka also chose to bat first. Now, we will take a look at the lineups of both teams.
Dasun Shanaka(c), Kusal Mendis(wk),Dhananjya De Silva, Charith Asalanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal parera, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushan Heamatha.
Rohit Sharma(c), Kl. Rahul(wk), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shubhman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar.
Delay in the Game
The Final of the Asia Cup 2023 was delayed 40 minutes due to the light rain and storm in the final. But soon after that, the game started, and everyone watched it closely.
Head To Head Sri Lanka vs India Odis in Sri Lanka
- Matches Played: 65
- India Won: 31
- Sri Lanka Won: 28
- Tied Matches: 0
- No result: 6
Sri Lankan Batting Collapse
Before the final, it was a close encounter between these two teams. When Sri Lanka came into bat, they did not know that Indian pacers would not let them settle. The first wicket of Sri Lanka fell on the very third delivery of the game as Jasprit Bumrah caught rid of the experienced Sri Lankan batter Kusal Perera. As the first wicket went down for Sri Lanka, there was no coming back for them as they collapsed very severely, and the team was bowled out under 20 overs on the score of only 50 runs. Hardik Pandya took three wickets and had the second-best bowling figures in this match after Muhammad Siraj. Only two batters passed the score of ten runs, while others were out under ten runs. It wasn’t very comfortable for the Sri Lankan team. They were completely clueless about the Indian bowlers. They were 12/6 in 5.4 overs and were all out for their second-lowest score of 50. All the credit goes to Muhammad Siraj for his great peace of bowling and assistance from other bowlers.
Lowest score for Sri Lanka against India
Sri Lanka was bowled out for only the score of 50. It was their second-lowest score in Odis. he was their lowest score against India and the lowest for any team against India in Odis. It was also the lowest score in an ODI tournament final. The Sri Lankan team’s 2023 year has not gone well, as they have been bowled out for fewer than 100 runs three times already this year. 73 vs. India and 76 vs. New Zealand were the other two instances where they had been bowled out for less than 100 this year. The Indian team bowled the opposition with fewer than 100 balls for the first time in an ODI match. The final has proved to be a nightmare for the Sri Lankan team.
Mohammad Siraj: A young Sensation
The young pacer from Hyderabad, India, was the difference between the two teams in the one-sided Final. He bowled the most impressive spell of his career. Muhammad Siraj started with a maiden. He took six wickets and destroyed the Sri Lankan batting line with his excellent fast bowling. He started his 2nd over by getting rid of Pathum Nissanka. Muhammad Siraj took 4 wickets in the fourth over. He is one of the few bowlers who have taken 4 wickets in an over and 5 wickets in the first six overs of the match. He took his fifth wicket by dismissing the Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka on a duck. Mohammad Siraj equaled the record of Sri Lankan legend Chaminda Vaas by taking a fifer in 16 bowls. The Sri Lankan legend took this record when playing against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup.
Mohammad Siraj also completed his 50th ODI wicket in the Final. He became the second and first fast bowler to complete the achievement in only 1002 balls after Sri Lankan legend Ajantha Mendis, who is at the top of the list. Mohammad Siraj took 6 wickets for only 21 runs.
India chasing the Target
When the Indian openers came to the crease, they knew that it was a small total of only 50 runs to chase. The opening pair consisted of Ishan Kishan and Shubhman Gill. Rohit Sharma did not come to open the innings. The Indian openers came out smashing the Sri Lankan bowlers. Shubhman Gill struck six boundaries, whereas Ishan Kishan scored three boundaries. Both the young openers scored 32 runs in only three overs. They were in a hurry to win the final and lift the trophy. So, both the young batters chased the target of 51 runs in almost six overs, and they had 263 balls still left. They took their team to victory, and India won by ten wickets against Sri Lanka in the Final. They clinched their 8th Asia Cup title, the most by any team.
Player of the Tournament and Other Awards
Kuldeep Yadav became the Player of the Tournament due to his magical spin bowling and was also the most deserving of this award. He took a fifer against Pakistan and bowled very well against other teams. Mohammad Siraj won the Player of the Match award for his splendid bowling in the Final. The trophy for the game’s best catch went to Ravindra Jadeja. So, the Asia Cup Final 2023 was a one-sided affair. India beat Sri Lanka and won the Asia Cup for the eighth time.
