Records have been broken, a side has been beaten, and most importantly, a team has dominated the Asia Cup with its head held high throughout the run. Asia Cup 2023 has come to an end, with India lifting the cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Sri Lanka collapsed at just 50 run mark in 15.2 overs. Dasun Shanaka is out of words, looking to define the situation with something that can mean worse than disappointment.
R. Premadasa Stadium was packed with Lankan fans waving their nation’s flag. The assumption was that there would be a fight even if the team lost early wickets. Alas, it was Miya’s Magic that continued its disruptive showcase. Siraj picked up 4 wickets in the 4th over of the innings. Nothing was left for the pacer, who now holds the best figures of 7-1-21-6. It would have been 4 runs less had Virat Kohli not made the mistake of handing over a boundary extra for a run-out attempt.
Siraj now has 50+ wickets in 1,002 deliveries as India picks 6 wickets in the opening 10 overs – ODI’s first powerplay.
Bumrah clinched the opening spell in the third delivery of the opener. His hands came out like wings to celebrate the fall of Kusal Perera. Sharma’s statement that he would have chosen to bat first had he won the toss brought suspicion in everyone’s mind if Sri Lanka had actually won the match with the toss. Predictions on top sites for cricket betting have favored both sides equally since the beginning.
What followed after Bumrah’s over was total chaos for Sri Lanka, who now have the lowest score in the ODI final to date. Also, this is the lowest total against the Indian Cricket Team in the white ball format.
Simply put, the fixture ended for the hosts in the 4th over itself. Shanaka losing his wicket put a firm nail in the decision about who is going to win. Kuldeep Yadav now holds the title of Player of the Tournament for prize money of $15,000 with 9 wickets to his name. Sirah has been declared Player of the Match, while Ravindra Jadeja has been named Catch of the Match. Rightly so, considering the Indian all-rounder picked up a low-falling ball to his right side at a pretty high speed.
This is also a closure to the previous installment when ICT was dismissed for 54 runs by Sri Lanka. This dates back to 2000 with high relevance, which is palpable by a statement made by Yuvraj Singh. He has said that the monkey is finally off their back. He has further congratulated the team with the hope that the form will be taken forward to the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
One final interesting input: India are now the only team to have won an ODI final by 10 wickets. Asia Cup 2023 is one, and the previous instance was in 1998 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah when they were chasing 197 runs.
