Asia Cup Final: Sri Lanka all out for just 50 runs, India yet to bat

Sri Lanka was bundled out for its second-lowest ODI total ever by India during the Asia Cup 2023 final at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

Mohammed Siraj brought Sri Lanka down to their knees in just the first six overs of the match by picking a five-wicket haul.  Siraj just blasted the top off the opposition's batting order by getting four wickets in the fourth over alone after Jasprit Bumrah had already taken a wicket off the third ball.

Then, in just his third over, he finished off the job by getting rid of Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka. As a result, Sri Lanka was in trouble at 12/6 in 5.4 overs. Sri Lanka decided to bat first after winning the toss. Rain, however, ultimately caused a 40-minute delay in the start of the game. Despite missing nearly their entire frontline bowling attack, a combination of inexperienced part-timers and young bowlers has made scoring against Sri Lanka challenging, while players like Kusal Mendis have excelled with the bat.

Jeetega Jeetega India Jeetega 🇮🇳#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/OUB0fbmZQW

— Temjen Imna Along (@AlongImna) September 17, 2023

Prior to the final, both sides suffered from injury setbacks, however Sri Lanka may have been more adversely affected. Washington Sundar has been flown in as backup for India despite the loss of Axar Patel for this game and maybe the forthcoming series against Australia. Mahesh Theekshana, Sri Lanka's frontline spinner, is now out of the competition for the duration. However, Sri Lanka has stated that they anticipate Theekshana to be prepared for the World Cup the following month. Sundar, on the other hand, has been selected for the Indian second string team to compete in the Asian Games later this month, making it doubtful that he would be selected for the World Cup squad. 

Highlights of the Asia Cup final between India and Sri Lanka: 

1. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first

2. The match was delayed by rain and started off 40 mins late

3. Bumrah got the breakthrough off the third ball of the match

4. Siraj then picked four wickets in his second over and Sri Lanka were left reeling at 12/5

5. He then completed his five-wicket haul in just his third over and added one more with the wicket of Kusal Mendis in Siraj's sixth consecutive over

6. Hardik Pandya took one in the 13th over and Sri Lanka were down to their last 2 wickets in 40 overs