India beat Sri Lanka to reach Asia Cup final; Bangladesh knocked out

India, following their dominant victory over Pakistan by 228 runs on the same pitch, successfully defended a total of 213 against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa stadium, securing a 41-run win and sealing their spot in the Asia Cup final.

Rohit Sharma’s team will now await the winners of the Thursday match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan for the final showdown on Sunday, while Bangladesh’s chances of advancing from the Super Four stage have been dashed.

Despite Dunith Wellalage’s exceptional all-round performance for Sri Lanka, where the 20-year-old left-arm spinner claimed a five-wicket haul and contributed an unbeaten 42 with the bat, it ultimately proved insufficient.

Wellalage dismissed five of India’s top six batsmen, including Rohit (53), Shubman Gill (19), and Virat Kohli (3), as India’s early momentum faltered, slipping from 80-0 to 91-3. The young spinner also broke a crucial partnership between KL Rahul (39) and Ishan Kishan (33) by catching Rahul off his own bowling before removing Hardik Pandya (5).

Sri Lanka faced a daunting task, reeling at 25-3 and later 99-6 during their chase. However, a resilient 63-run partnership between Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva (41) briefly rekindled their hopes. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka lost their last four wickets for just 10 runs once Dhananjaya was caught by Ravindra Jadeja at mid-on. India’s spinner Kuldeep Yadav also played a pivotal role, taking 4-43, adding to his five-wicket haul against Pakistan the previous day.

India’s opponent in the final will be determined between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both currently holding two points. They are set to face each other in a crucial match in Colombo on Thursday, essentially a virtual knockout game. In the event of a rainout, a likely scenario, Sri Lanka would advance into the final due to their higher net run rate.