‘Thank You India, from Pakistan fans’ – Fans react as India wins low-scoring thriller against Sri Lanka by 41 runs in Asia Cup 2023

In the fourth game of the Super Four of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023, Sri Lanka and India locked horns. The Men In Blue were in the field for the third consecutive day as their previous game against Pakistan was played for two days due to rain. Meanwhile, in this game, the former champions won the toss and elected to bat first on a used surface.

They had a great start as skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put together 80 runs in just 11.1 overs. In the process, the former completed his 10,000 ODI runs and 8,000 runs as an opening batter. However, after the spinners were introduced and the ball got older, the scoring rate dropped massively. Dunith Wellalage reduced the team from 80/0 to 91/3 in no time.

The former Sri Lanka U19 player took the wickets of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma respectively. At this stage, the likes of KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan put together 63 runs albeit the latter playing slowly. However, Wellalage came back and took the wicket of Rahul, who was going wonderfully well on a dry wicket with 39 off 44 balls. This wicket triggered a massive collapse.

Charitha Asalanka also joined the fun and took four wickets. On the other hand, Wellalage completed a five-for and Maheesh Theekshana joined the fun with the last wicket of the innings. The seven-time winners ended up getting 213 all-out.

India managed to defend a low total and ensured their place in the final

In reply, the Indian bowlers needed to keep taking wickets and bowl with discipline. Even though the score was low, the wicket had something for the bowlers and wasn’t going to be an easy game for the spinners. Meanwhile, after losing six wickets for 99 runs, the likes of Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva gave some hope to the side with a partnership of 63 runs.

However, the latter threw away his wicket to Ravindra Jadeja, and after this, despite Theekshana’s slight resistance, the defending champions ended with 172 all-out. With this, they lost the game by 41 runs. On the other hand, India is set to play the final of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.

This is how Twitter reacted