India belittles Sri Lanka again in Asia Cup carbon copy win
India continued their unbeaten winning streak in the ICC Men’s World Cup, decimating Sri Lanka by a jaw-dropping 305 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. With this win, India secured their berth in the semi-finals thanks mainly to Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer who spearheaded India’s innings with half centuries, whilst their pacemen decimated the Sri Lankan batters to help India win by a massive 302 runs. The men in blue in a rather comical fashion, bowled out their beloved neighbours for 55 runs, much like their previous encounter in the Asia Cup Finals.
Sri Lanka’s decision to bowl first, came back to bite them as the Virat Kholi and Shubnam Gill the King and Prince of Indian cricket put on quite the show for all their fans at the Wankhede. The pair were exceptional in their dissecting of the Sri Lankan bowling line up, recovering from the early loss of skipper Rohit Sharma with a 189 run second wicket partnership. Sadly for the King and Prince, Dilshan Madushanka stepped up to the plate and snatched away their hopes of finishing with three figures.
Madushanka’s pace got the better of Shubman Gill, ending his tally at 92 and Virat Kohli followed suit on 88. Kohli’s dismissal meant that he would miss out on equalling Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most ODI centuries, but Shreyas Iyer made it all better, by clobbering the Sri Lankans to score 82 runs off 56 deliveries whilst sending six of those deliveries into the stands. Iyer was able to deliver India a total of 357 for 8. Little did he know that India really needed to post just 56 runs to move on to the Semi-Finals.
For a second time in a row against each other, India’s seamers, led by Mohamed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj, delivered yet another masterclass of swing bowling. Sri Lanka who suffered a humiliating defeat in the Asia Cup were subject to yet another nightmarish performance. Their batting lineup had no answer to their relentless movement of the new ball, collectively scoring a meager 55 runs, in stark contrast to India’s impressive 357 in their innings.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s exceptional handling of the seam toppled the Sri Lankan top order but it was Mohammed Shami who stood tall, as he claimed a magnificent five-wicket haul, finishing with figures of 5 for 18 in just five overs. With this performance, Shami has now claimed the top spot as India’s highest wicket-taker in World Cups, boasting an impressive tally of 45 wickets. His contributions played a pivotal role in extending India’s unbeaten streak to seven out of seven matches in the tournament, but Jasprit Bumrah and Mohamed Siraj were equally impressive.
This emphatic victory was India’s ticket to the semi-finals, further solidifying their status as a formidable force in the world of cricket. Their path to the championship remains intact as they continue their relentless pursuit of the coveted trophy.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, endured an embarrassing defeat, succumbing to their lowest-ever total in World Cup history. Sri Lanka’s struggles were further highlighted by the fact that this was the eighth instance of batsmen recording five ducks in a World Cup innings, the most by any team. Skipper Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka managed to score a single each, if not Sri Lanka would have had seven ducks on their score sheet.
India will continue to march on with unwavering determination, setting their eyes on the prize, whilst for Sri Lanka the rest of the games will be of mere academic interest.
Chief Score:
India – 357 for 8 in 50 Overs (Shubman Gill 92, Virat Kohlie 88, Shreyas Iyer 82, Dilshan Madushanka 5 for 80, Dushmanth Chameera 1 for 71, Angelo Mathews 0 for 11)
Sri Lanka – 55 for 10 in 19.4 Overs (Kasun Rajitha 14, Maheesh Theekshana 12, Angelo Mathews 12, Mohammed Shami 5 for 18, Mohammed Siraj 3 for 16, Jasprit Bumrah 1 for 8)
