Sri Lanka on Tuesday defeated India by six wickets in a Super Four match of the ongoing Asia Cup. This was India’s second defeat after losing to arch-rivals Pakistan a few days ago.
Batting first, India made 173-8 in 20 overs with Rohit Sharma playing a captain’s knock of 72 from 41 balls.
However, Sri Lanka achieved the target by losing just four wickets and with one ball to spare. Kusal Mendis made 57 while Pathum Nissanka played a knock of 52 from 37 balls.
Reacting to his side’s defeat, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma said, “We just ended up on the wrong side, as simple as that. We could have capitalized on the first half of our innings. We fell 10-15 runs short. The second half wasn’t good for us. The guys who were out in the middle can learn about what shots can be played.
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“These things can happen. Losses like these will make us understand what works as a team. With the ball, it was a good effort to take it to the last over considering the start they had. The spinners bowled aggressively and got wickets in the middle overs, but Sri Lanka held their nerve.”
Sri Lankan skipper, Dasun Shanaka, who remained unbeaten at 33 from 18 balls after taking two wickets, was declared Player Of The Match.
As reported by the BCCI, Shanaka said after the match, “The environment in the team set the tone. It is what gave us confidence. The batting unit won it for us. The bowlers bowled well in patches, Dilshan and Theekshana in particular. The Indian batsmen came hard, but we did well to keep them to 173. We had a good discussion after the first game. We know what we can do in this tournament.”