India vs Sri Lanka Highlights, Asia Cup 2023 final: SL 50 all out; Mohammed Siraj picks six; IND wins by 10 wickets

Asalanka in. Full and straight, driven to long off for a single. India win the 2023 Asia Cup by 10 wickets with 263 balls left. This is India’s eighth Asia Cup triumph.

Wellalage continues. Slightly shorter, turned to the leg side for a single. Wellalage keeping it full, Gill prods on his front foot and defends. Four!! Full again, Gill steps down and drives it past cover for another boundary. Scores level.

Pathirana into the attack. Four!! Full and wide, Ishan opens the face of the bat to get it past point and to the boundary for four. Full toss outside off, Kishan punches it through the covers. The point fielder does well to prevent the boundary. Four!! Full toss on the pads, flicked through the leg side for a boundary.

Wellalage into the attack. Full in length, two singles from the first two balls. Just the two from the over.

Madushan continues. Slightly wide, cut to third man for a single. Four!! Full and wide, Shubman goes on his front foot and drives through the covers for a boundary. Four!! Slightly shorter, Gill punches it through the covers for another boundary. Four!! Short this time, Gill moves onto his back foot and pulls past midwicket for the third four of the over. Fifteen from the over.

Pathirana in from the other end. Full and straight, defended to the off side, an overthrow at the non strikers end the batters get a second. Appeal for LBW, but the ball was missing the stumps. Four!! Pathirana goes short, Kishan cuts it over the head of slip and to the boundary for four. The slip fielder with a jump but its too high for him. Four!! Short and wide, Kishan cuts it through the off side for another boundary.

Madushan with the first over. Full and wide outside off, Kishan lets it go. This one comes in, but Kishan defends down the ground and gets three. Slightly wide of offstump, Gill misses his waft. Four!! On the pads, Gill drives it through the on side for a majestic four.

Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill to open for India who have 50 overs to chase down 51. How much pressure can SL put on the openers?

Hardik into the attack. Wicket!! Full and wide of off stump, edges it straight to first slip. Sri Lanka loses its ninth wicket.

Pramod c Hardik Pandya b Hardik Pandya 1(6)

Pathirana in at 11. Wicket!! Pathirana goes first ball! Slightly short outside off stump, Pathirana looks to slice it but finds Ishan at point.

Pathirana c Ishan Kishan b Hardik Pandya 0(1)

SL all out for 50. This is the lowest ODI total ever recorded against India.

Kuldeep Yadav into the attack. A single to the leg side brings up Sri Lanka’s fifty. It has already crossed it’s lowest ever ODI total. Just a single off the over.

Siraj continues. His seventh over on the trot. First ball is down leg, wide signalled. Close!! Fuller and outside off, comes in and passes just over the stumps. Inside edge this time to fine leg, Virat with a wayward throw that runs to the boundary. Six runs off the ball therefore. Appeals for LBW as the ball hits the pad, was way down leg side though. Shorter this time, straight at the helmet, Hemantha on his toes but defends well. Nine runs from the over.

Hardik continues. Full on the stumps, defended to midwicket. Full again, Hemantha drives it through the gap on the first offside for a single. Wicket!! Hardik goes short. Wellalage in no position to play the pull. The ball goes up off his glove and Rahul completes an easy catch.

Wellalage c Rahul b Hardik Pandya 8(21)

Madushan in at 10. Slightly short on the body, defended to the leg side. Full and straight this time, Madushan drives it to mid off. Madushan ducks expecting a shorter one, doesn’t bounce enough and gets hit on his arm.

SL 40/8 in 13 overs

Siraj continues. Wicket!! Full and straight, castles Kusal Mendis!! Went for an expansive shot and sees the stumps disturbed behind him.

Kusal Mendis b Siraj 17(34) [4s-3]

Hemantha in at 9. Down the leg side first ball, umpire signals a wide. Full and straight again, defended right back to the bowler. Four!! Drifts onto the pads, Hemantha drives it beautifully through the on side for a boundary. Six from the over.

SL 39/7 in 12 overs

Hardik into the attack. Full, just outside off, Wellalage defends to point. Same line, back of a length this time. defended to point again. Appeals for LBW. But looks like it was going with the angle outside off. Hardik goes short, pulled to the leg side for a couple. Not the best connection, but nobody at the deep for the catch.

Siraj with his fifth. Full ball keeps low and goes very close to off stump. Wellalage had let it go. Full again, driven without much timing to cover for a single. Siraj shortens the length a litte, moves in and strikes Mendis on his thighs. Edged!! But falls short of Virat Kohli at first slip. Just a single from the over.

Bumrah continues. Full on the stumps, defended down the ground for a couple. Four!! Slightly short outside off, Mendis carves it over point for a boundary. Four!! Full and straight, gets the batters edge but runs past second slip and into the boundary for four. Twelve off the over.

Siraj with his fourth over. Slightly shorter, Wellalage looks to cut, but misses the ball. Fuller on the stumps, defended to short mid wicket. Just a single from the over.

Bumrah continues. Full outside off, left alone by Wellalage. On the pads this time, Welallage flicks it through the leg side for three. Full and on offstump, Mendis prods forward and defends. Bumrah goes short, Welallage lets it go. Four off the over.

Siraj continues. Appeals! Was full and swinging away, very close to the bat. No review from Rohit though. Same delivery again, beats the bat again. Wicket!! Fifer for Siraj!!! Full and straight, swinging away from middle stump and uproots off stump.

Shanaka b Siraj 0(4)

Wellalage in at 8. Full and straight defended down the ground for a single.

SL 13/6 in 6 overs

Bumrah continues. Short of a length on the body, defended right back. Slightly fuller and moving in, Mendis shoulders arms. Slightly wide of off stump, moving in slightly, Mendis leaves again. Maiden over from Bumrah.

Wicket!!! Full again, Nissanka looks to drive, hits it to the right of Jadeja who pouches it after a dive. Great catch!

Nissanka c Jadeja b Siraj 2(4)

Sadeera in at 4. Slighly shorter outside off, left alone by the batter. Wicket!!! Coming in from a length and Illingworth raises his finger immediately. SL reviews. Three reds and SL loses another.

Samarawickrama lbw b Siraj 0(2)

Wicket!!! Asalanka chips an easy catch to cover first ball. Siraj on a hattrick!!

Asalanka c Ishan Kishan b Siraj 0(1)

Dhanajeya in at 6. Four!! Full on the stumps, driven down the ground. No mid on and Siraj gives chase himself, but the ball runs away for a boundary. Wicket!!! Full and wide and Dhananjeya edges it to Rahul. Four in the over for Bumrah!!

Dhananjaya c Rahul b Siraj 4(2) [4s-1]

SL 12/5 in 4 overs

On the line of the stumps, defended to the leg side and a quick single taken. Slight hesitation but no real trouble there. Wide of off this time, batter lets it go. Slightly overpitched, Mendis drives it straight to Jadeja at point. The one that swings in, catches Mendis on the pads but was probably missing leg and was slightly high. Just a single from the over.

Siraj from the other end. Full, outside off, Mendis leaves it alone. Full again, beats Mendis on his attempted drive. Jumps up off a length this time, very close to the outside edge. Beaten again! A hint of movement as it beats Mendis’ defensive shot. Maiden over from Siraj.

Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka make their way into the middle. Bumrah to open the bowling for India.

Full and straight, catches Nissanka’s edge, goes past the slip fielders to third man for a single. Significant movement away from Perera after pitching in line with the stumps. Wicket!! Slightly fuller, Perera looks to drive, edges it to Rahul who completes the catch with a dive. What a start for India.

Kusal Perera c Rahul b Bumrah 0(2)

Mendis in at 3. Four!! Full outside off stump, driven past mid off and cover to the boundary for four. Full, straight, edged to third man again.

SL 7/1 in 1 over

Play to start at 3:40 PM. The Indian players already down at the ground, doing their fileding and catching drills.

The covers are slowly coming off. The umpires having a chat with the captains. Not long before we get the final underway. Inspection at 3:30 PM.

The entire ground was covered by the staff just as the drizzle came in. The clouds slowly moving away locals say. We will be in for an immediate resumption once the covers are off. Stay Tuned.

​

We were a bit worried about the weather, but we’ve got decent cricket throughout the tournament. Hopefully, we can get over the line today. Sometimes, you won’t be at your best but to scrap out a win. Some of the catching and fielding in the earlier game against Sri Lanka was really impressive. We need to play good, smart cricket. They are a good team playing in home conditions, we need to execute our skills and scrap out a win. (On Injuries) All teams are in a similar position, injuries so close to the WC could really cost you. We just need to keep our fingers crossed, trust our processes. We are in a tricky situation where some guys need to be rested, while some guys need some cricket. It is a tricky balance to achieve.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana

TOSS: Sri Lanka wins toss, opts to bat

Dasun Shanaka: We’ll bat first. Seems like a good wicket, there will be some turn in the afternoon. Last year, we weren’t able to get these crowds but this time we are really fortunate. Maheesh Theekshana is out, Dushanth Hemantha is in.

Rohit Sharma: Would have batted first too, looks like a dry pitch. We are confident of chasing down whatever Sri Lanka put on the board. We came really close last game, anything about 240 on this surface is good. Our job today is to do well with the ball, and then see what we can do with the bat. The crowd have been brilliant, good support for both teams. Everyone’s back after the rest in the last game, Axar is injured so Washington Sundar comes in for him.

Shortly after crossing the 10,000-run mark in ODIs, Rohit Sharma is set to make his 250th ODI appearance.

Dominic Cork and Sanjay Manjrekar assess the conditions: Fresh pitch for the final. Colombo pitches have generally been useful for the spinners. We are right next to the pitch used for the earlier India Sri Lanka game. It is a dry surface, 70m boundaries all directions. If I’m a captain, I’ll be batting first and then hope for some turn at night.

India predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Sri Lanka predicted XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madhushan, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana

Matches played: 65

India won: 31

Sri Lanka won: 28

Tied matches: 0

No result: 6

Last result: India won by 41 runs (Colombo (RPS); September 2023)

Last five results: IND won - 4; SL won - 1

Matches played: 166

India won: 97

Sri Lanka won: 57

Tied matches: 1

No result: 11

Last result: India won by 41 runs (Colombo (RPS); September 2023)

Last five results: IND won - 4; SL won - 1

​

The curse of the Asia Cup has persisted. It’s not going to be India versus Pakistan, in sync with the tournament’s 39-year history.

Nevertheless, with the World Cup less than three weeks away, there will be much more at stake than bragging about continental supremacy when India takes on Sri Lanka in what is expected to be a scintillating Sunday.

While both teams are dealing with injury concerns, Rohit Sharma and Co. will have to come up with a near-perfect show against a Sri Lankan outfit - backed by a 35,000-strong home crowd - that has nothing to lose at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Contrary to most of last week, the weather in the port city has been brighter and hotter with every passing day. Despite the radar alerting a couple of thunderstorms predicted in the afternoon, a combination of a reserve day provision and an efficient groundstaff will in all likelihood result in either Rohit or Dasun Shananka lifting the coveted trophy on Sunday night itself.

For India, the match becomes even more important considering the pressure it will be carrying for repeating the 2011 wonders at home starting next month. Having wilted under pressure in ICC tournaments for a decade and not having won a multi-nation tournament title for five years, it will be paramount for India to carry the confidence into the global showpiece event.

​

On pitches that have expectedly become slower with every passing match over the last week, India will have to get its act right. Axar Patel, having hurt his wrist and elbow during a valiant knock in Friday’s run-chase against Bangladesh, is an unlikely starter. Washington Sundar has joined the squad as Axar’s backup, with the final call on his formal induction into the squad to be taken later on Saturday night.

Should Axar be sidelined, India will be tempted to get Washington in the XI with an eye on bolstering its batting depth and spin department.

Sri Lanka has been dealt with a severe blow, with mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana having been ruled out of the final. Spin-bowling all-rounder Sahan Arachchige joined the squad for its pre-match training session on Saturday afternoon.

Shreyas Iyer is unlikely to be risked, considering next week’s series against Australia to serve as the final fitness test for the batter.

India will rely on the big three - captain Rohit, his opening partner Shubman Gill and run-machine Virat Kohli - to come to the occasion.

Can it return to India high on confidence? Or will Sri Lanka - having survived a scare in the first round and pulled off a heist against Pakistan - carry the brownie points by defending its Asia Cup title?

Over to Sunday!

Where can I watch the IND vs SL Asia Cup 2023 final match today?

The India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup final match will be telecast live on the Star Sports network and will be streamed live on the Disney+ Hotstar app.

Where will the IND vs SL Asia Cup 2023 final match be played?

The India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 match will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium from 3 PM IST on Sunday.