ndia's captain Rohit Sharma appeals unsuccessfully to dismiss Sri Lanka's Charith Asalanka during the Asia Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. AP/PTI Skipper Rohit Sharma lauded the efforts of Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav after they helped India defeat Sri Lanka by 41 runs and make their way into the final of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.
Talking about Pandya, Rohit said, “He has worked really hard in his bowling for the last couple of years. It doesn’t happen overnight and it’s pleasing to see. He looked like taking a wicket off every ball. Was not an easy target to defend as the pitch got easier at the end and we had to put it consistently in one area and I think we did quite well.”
“For the past year or so he is bowling really really well. He has done a lot of hard work on his rhythm. He went back to the drawing board and worked on it. The ball is coming out nicely and you can see the results in the last 10 ODIs,” the captain said while talking about Yadav.
In the match, asked to bowl first, left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage (5/40) took a fifer as Sri Lanka bowled India out for 213.
The spin duo of Wellalage and Charith Asalanka (4/18) wreaked havoc in the middle overs to bundle out India in 49.1 overs after skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat. Rohit (53) top-scored for India.
There was a brief rain interruption with just three overs remaining in India’s innings.
Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals as Kuldeep Yadav returned with impressive figures of 4/43, while Jasprit Bumrah (2/30) picked up early wickets to hand India the win.
Sri Lanka were all out for 172 in 41.3 overs. For Sri Lanka, Wellalage (42 not out) top-scored with the bat after a brilliant bowling display.
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