 "Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh's death-bowling heroics helped India win a high-scoring thriller in Dubai after Pathum Nissanka's magnificent 107 nearly helped Sri Lanka collect a consolation win. AP")
Arshdeep Singh underlined his status as a premier T20 bowler with his exceptional death-bowling while opener Abhishek Sharma continued his fine run with a third consecutive half-century as India defeated Sri Lanka in a match that went into the Super Over on Friday.
The victory thus extends their unbeaten run in the ongoing tournament heading into Sunday’s final against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the same venue where the Men in Blue won the high-scoring thriller on Friday.
Nissanka’s valiant ton in vain
Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka, however, was left heartbroken in the end after his brilliant 107 off 58 deliveries – his maiden T20I century and only the third ton in the history of the Men’s T20 Asia Cup – went in vain.
Nissanka had helped the Lankans, who had won the previous edition of the T20 Asia Cup three years ago, recover from a jittery start by adding 127 for the second wicket with Kusal Perera (58 off 32). And despite Perera’s dismissal, the Sri Lankans found themselves in pole position to collect a consolation victory, needing just 46 more to win off 30 balls with 8 wickets in hand and a well-set Nissanka at the crease.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led side, however, kept their calm and pulled things back in style in the last five overs. Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep kept things tight in the 16th and 19th overs to build pressure on the Lankans while Harshit Rana made up for three expensive overs by getting rid of Nissanka at the start of the final over.
The topsy-turvy battle between all-rounder Dasun Shanaka and Rana in the final over, however, resulted in both teams finishing level on 202/5. Arshdeep then stood tall in the Super Over, dismissing Perera and Shanaka in a space of five deliveries while conceding just two runs to leave just three runs for India to collect their sixth consecutive victory.
Surya needed just one ball to clinch a thrilling victory for the Men in Blue with a punch in front of cover off Wanindu Hasaranga, getting enough time to run a third.
India become first team to breach 200
Earlier, India had become the first team to breach the 200-mark in the ongoing tournament, with Abhishek continuing his red-hot run in the ongoing tournament by smashing a 22-ball half-century. The Men in Blue were off to a slow start once again with Shubman Gill (4) getting dismissed in the second second over of the innings after Sri Lanka invited them to bat.
Abhishek’s fireworks, however, ensured the Men in Blue raced to 71/1 at the end of the powerplay. And unlike the match against the Bangladesh, India ensured they did not slow down in the middle overs, thanks to Tilak’s unbeaten 49 off 34 balls and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson’s quickfire 39 off 23, which contained a four and three sixes and was exactly the kind of contribution that the team management had expected from him after his relocation to the middle order.
How social media reacted to high-scoring thriller in Dubai
Here’s how former cricketers and other experts as well as fans reacted to the final Super 4s match of the tournament, keeping Arshdeep’s death-bowling and Nissanka’s century in focus: