‘Badi jaldi Lanka dahan ho gaya’ – Fans react as India qualify for ODI World Cup 2023 semi-finals in style following massive 302-run win over Sri Lanka

India played their 7th match of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, November 2. As expected, the Men in Blue continued their winning streak in the tournament by thrashing the Island nation by a huge margin of 302 runs and with this win, India became the first team to secure a place in the semi-finals.

Talking about the match, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field, inviting the Indian team to set a target on the scoreboard. The Indian side got off to a disastrous start as their captain, Rohit Sharma, was dismissed on only the second ball of the match. However, the dynamic Indian pair of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill laid the foundation for a substantial total.

Both batters appeared set to score their respective centuries but were eventually dismissed by Dilshan Madushanka. Although they fell short of reaching the century mark, they constructed an impressive partnership of 189 runs for the second wicket. Gill played a splendid innings, scoring 92 runs off 92 balls, featuring 11 fours and 2 sixes, while Kohli made 88 runs from 94 deliveries.

Shreyas Iyer also came close to a century, falling just 17 runs short, as he scored 83 runs off 56 balls, which included 3 fours and 6 sixes. The Indian batters consistently scored heavily throughout the innings, ensuring that they surpassed the 350-run mark. In the final 10 overs, India added 93 runs, with Ravindra Jadeja contributing crucial runs lower down the order. Madhushanka was the only bowler for Sri Lanka who shone with the ball by taking a brilliant fifer.

Magnificent bowling performance by India

Chasing the target, the Indian bowlers established their dominance right from the opening delivery, with Jasprit Bumrah dismissing Pathum Nissanka LBW. Subsequently, the Sri Lankan team lost wickets at regular intervals throughout their innings. Mohammed Siraj made a significant impact in Mumbai by taking the wickets of three top-order Sri Lankan batsmen within his first seven deliveries.

Following Siraj’s impressive spell, India’s most successful bowler in the history of the ODI World Cup, Mohammed Shami, secured his second five-wicket haul of the tournament in just three matches, marking his third overall in World Cup history. As the ball’s movement became less unpredictable, Kasun Rajitha and Maheesh Theekshana managed to add 14 and 12 runs respectively to the total. However, by then, the game was well out of reach for Sri Lanka. Their scorecard read 3/4, 14/6, 22/7, 29/8, and they were eventually bundled out for just 55 runs.

Here’s how fans reacted: 

https://twitter.com/imsachinyadav1/status/1720094561060757839