India stormed into the men’s cricket final at the Asian Games with a commanding 124-run win over Sri Lanka at the Karogi Sports Park on Thursday, setting up a high-profile clash against Pakistan for the gold medal.
Defending a target of 170, India’s bowlers dismantled the Sri Lankan batting line-up, with Jasprit Bumrah striking twice in his opening over to dismiss opener Sineth Jayawardena and wicketkeeper-batter Sohan de Livera for ducks.
Ravi Bishnoi then produced a sharp throw to run out Lasith Croospulle in the following over, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 2-3 after just seven deliveries.
Axar Patel compounded Sri Lanka’s problems by taking two wickets in the fourth over as the Islanders slipped to 18/5. Axar and Sanju Samson combined to run out Nuwanidu Fernando, while Washington Sundar dismissed Wanuja Sahan.
With Sri Lanka struggling, skipper Shreyas Iyer introduced Abhishek Sharma into the attack and the move paid off. The left-arm spinner struck twice in two balls, dismissing Chamika Karunaratne and Binura Fernando after Karunaratne had been run out.
India wrapped up the innings in just 9.5 overs, bowling Sri Lanka out for 45. Nuwanidu Fernando was the only Sri Lankan batter to reach double figures, scoring 15.
Earlier, India posted 169/7 after being sent in to bat, with Ishan Kishan anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls on a challenging pitch.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned to the line-up and opened the innings, scoring 38, while Abhishek Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson were dismissed for seven runs each.
Captain Iyer also failed to make a substantial contribution, scoring 13 off 13 balls before being dismissed by Wanuja Sahan.
Ishan then steadied the innings and accelerated towards the end, hitting five sixes and four boundaries to guide India to a competitive total.
The defending champions will now face Pakistan, who defeated Bangladesh in the other semifinal, in the final as India seek to retain their Asian Games title.
Brief Scores: India 169/7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 80 not out, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 38; Sahan Arachchige 2-28, Tharindu Ratnayake 2-32) beat Sri Lanka 45 all out in 9.5 overs (Nuwanidu Fernando 15; Abhishek Sharma 2-2, Jasprit Bumrah 2-7, Axar Patel 2-8) by 124 runs.
(IANS Inputs)
