Nisshin, Oct 1 (IANS) : Defending champions India thrashed Sri Lanka in the men’s cricket semi-final of the Asian Games here at the Karogi Sports Park on Thursday and cruised smoothly into the final, where a high-profile clash against Pakistan awaits.
Defending a 170-run target against the Islanders, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ran through the opposition’s top-order to start off the second innings with a double-wicket over as opener Sineth Jayawardena and keeper-batter Sohan de Livera were dismissed for a duck.
In the next over, Ravi Bishnoi’s sharp throw helped India claim a third wicket after opening batter Lasith Croospulle was run out as the Sahan Arachchige-led side slipped to 2-3 in just seven deliveries.
What followed next was complete dominance from the Indian bowlers as Axar Patel returned with two wickets in the fourth over, further reducing Sri Lanka to 18/5 at the end of that over.
With Axar and Sanju Samson then inflicting Nuwanidu Fernando’s run-out and Washington Sundar dismissing Wanuja Sahan, trouble loomed over the Lankans as their batting unit came tumbling down.
As the win looked easily achievable, skipper Iyer handed the ball to Abhishek Sharma to bring a bowling change, and the move worked tremendously in India’s favour as the left-arm orthodox spinner scalped two in two, sending Chamika Karunaratne and Binura Fernando back to the pavilion on the very next ball after Chamika Karunaratne was run out.
With the 10th over, seeing three wickets falling, India closed out the Sri Lankan innings in just 9.5 overs, bowling the side out for mere 45 runs. Except Nuwanidu Fernando, no other batter could manage to score in double figures as the batting unit fell like dominoes.
Earlier, India, after being put to bat first, piled up 169/7 in their 20-over quota courtesy of Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 80 off 46 deliveries on what looked like a challenging pitch.
With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returning to the lineup and opening the batting for the side, the youngster held one end strong while his fellow opener Abhishek Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson were dismissed cheaply with identical scores of seven.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer too couldn’t put up a show as Wanuja Sahan picked him for a run-a-ball 13. Coming in to bat at No. 5, Ishan Kishan then steadied the innings and kept piling on runs, hitting five sixes and four boundaries during his stay in the middle as the Men in Blue managed to post a defendable total.
India, the defending champions at the Games, will now face Pakistan, who beat Bangladesh in the other semi-final, eyeing a top-of-the-podium finish for a second consecutive time.
Brief Scores: India 169/7 in 20 ov (Ishan Kishan 80 not out, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 38; Sahan Arachchige 2-28, Tharindu Ratnayake 2-32) beat Sri Lanka 45/10 in 9.5 ov (Nuwanidu Fernando 15; Abhishek Sharma 2-2, Jasprit Bumrah 2-7, Axar Patel 2-8) by 124 runs.
