Rohit Sharma praises Kuldeep Yadav following India's win over Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash

Rohit Sharma praised Kuldeep Yadav for his performance in Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash.

In a magical performance, team India defended a low total against Sri Lanka in the super 4 round at R Premadasa Cricket Stadium in Colombo. India defeated Sri Lanka by 41 runs to defend their 213-runs score in a tightrope clash between two neighbours. They have also ended the Sri Lankan winning streak after 13 consecutive wins and booked their place in Asia Cup finals on September 17. Kuldeep Yadav once again emerged as a hero for team as he picked up 4 wickets along with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who got 2 under his name. Batting first, Captain Rohit Sharma (53) and Shubman Gill (19) added 80 runs for the opening wicket, but soon Dunith Wellalage brought Sri Lanka back with 3 wickets in 3 overs.

Indian batter could not tackle the turning pitch and kept losing wickets. Wellalage finished with 5/40 and is a part-timer. Charith Aalanka also picked up four wickets in the end. India started well with the ball and picked up early wickets as Bumrah got two inside the power play. Dunith Wellalage (42) again became India’s headache as he was building a decent 7th wicket stand along with Dhananjaya De Silva (41). Sri Lanka were six down inside 100, but this stand again opened up the chase. As soon as Jadeja got Dhananjaya De Silva’s wicket, Indian team gripped the game with both hands. Kuldeep finished it off with two wickets in the last over to end a thrilling game.

Dasun Shanaka took only 10 overs to realise his mistake

After a thrilling chase, Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka felt that he misread the wicket at first in the power play but soon realised it and changed the attack. Dasun Shanaka said, "We didn’t expect this kind of wicket, but after the first 10 overs, we came into the match brilliantly with the spinners. I thought it was a batting wicket, but we adjusted well, especially Wellalage." Indian openers were cruising for a big total as they had scored 80 runs in 11 overs. Dunith Wellalage was introduced in the 12th over and got Shubman Gill out. In the next two overs, he got Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shanaka also looked positive about the options he had as a part-timer. Shanaka said that it is a luxury to have such options on a team.

Rohit Sharma interested in more challenges

Indian captain Rohit Sharma was pleased with the efforts of the bowlers to defend a low total on a turning wicket. He said, "It was a good game. For us, playing a game like that under pressure challenged a lot of aspects of our game. We definitely want to play on pitches like this to see what we can achieve. We might come here and play on pitches like these." Kuldeep Yadav once again emerged as a match-winner for India as he picked up four wickets in the game. Praising Kuldeep He said, "For the past year or so, I've bowled really well. He has done a lot of work on his rhythm. He went back to the drawing board and worked on it." Kuldeep Yadav has picked up nine wickets in the last two games for India, he picked up five against Pakistan.

Dunith Wellalage wins the Player of the Match award

Young Sri Lankan spin all-rounder Dunith Wellalage was picked as player of the match for his all-round effort in the game. He couldn’t win his team the game, but he played a magnificent hand as a batter and scored 42 runs in 46 balls. He also picked up five wickets in Indian innings to help Sri Lanka restrict them to just 213 runs. Dunith Wellalage was disappointed to end up on the losing side, but he is still hopeful that his side will make it to the finals. He said, "I would like to congratulate the Indian team. They have so many experienced players, but unfortunately, we lost the game. We have another game, and we want to put up a fight and make it to the final." Wellalage also thanked his teammates and support staff for his performance in the game.