Asia Cup Thriller: India Remain Unbeaten, Clinching Super Over Victory Against Sri Lanka

Dubai, Sep 27  – India successfully defeated Sri Lanka in a thrilling Super Over contest on Friday night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the Asia Cup. Although this was a dead rubber, as India had already qualified for the final, Sri Lanka delivered a brilliant batting performance to push the final Asia Cup Super Fours game to a tie.

The tie occurred after Sri Lanka, chasing a target of 203 runs for victory, finished with the same score as India, 202/5, in their allotted 20 overs.
Sri Lanka’s Dominant Chase

The match began positively for India when Hardik Pandya dismissed Kusal Mendis for a golden duck. However, the Indian bowlers could not contain Sri Lanka’s top-order. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera dominated with the bat and were unstoppable. The duo shared a brilliant 127-run partnership and finished the Power-play with 72 runs on the board.

Perera was eventually trapped late in the 13th over, dismissed for 58 runs when he misjudged the line of a flatter length ball bowled by Varun Chakaravarthy, allowing Sanju Samson to dismantle the bails quickly. India managed to take a few wickets later in the game to halt the batters’ momentum. Kuldeep Yadav (1-31) and Arshdeep Singh soon dismissed Charith Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis.

Despite losing momentum briefly, Nissanka powered through with a magnificent knock, scoring a fine maiden century (107 runs). The target was reduced to 12 runs off the last six balls. With pressure mounting, Harshit Rana dismissed Nissanka on the first delivery of the final over. However, the Sri Lankan batters remained calm until the last ball to finish in a tie and advance to the Super Over.

Earlier, Sri Lankan bowlers conceded plenty of runs as India posted 202/5 in their 20 overs. After the early wickets of deputy Shubman Gill and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who walked back for a low total, India’s innings stabilized.

Abhishek Sharma continued his good form, bringing up his third consecutive half-century in the tournament with a 61-run knock. Tilak Varma was also crucial, remaining unbeaten on 49 runs. Brilliant batting displays by Abhishek, Varma, and Sanju Samson helped the eight-time Asia Cup champions cross the 200-run mark. Axar Patel also played a noteworthy knock in the death, scoring 21 runs off 15 deliveries, including a six off the last ball of the innings, partnering with Varma.

In the Super Over, Kusal Perera and Dasun Shanaka came out to bat for Sri Lanka. Arshdeep Singh proved effective, taking wickets off the first and sixth deliveries. Sri Lanka could only manage to score two runs, handing India a final target of three runs.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill walked out for the chase. Suryakumar faced the first ball and required only one delivery to finish the game, as the two ran three runs off it to clinch a magnificent win. India chased down the three-run target with ease. Sri Lanka, led by Charith Asalanka, will nonetheless be pleased with their overall performance against the World No. 1 T20I side.