India made a strong start in their final Asia Cup Super 4 match against Bangladesh, dismissing their openers early in the innings after opting to bowl in Colombo. Rohit Sharma’s men have already qualified for the final of the tournament and the team management rested a number of key players including Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and first-choice pace attack Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for the clash. It didn’t hamper India’s start with the ball, though, as Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur shared the spoils to send both openers back in hut.
While Shami dismissed Litton Das on a duck, Shardul sent Tanzid Hasan’s stumps flying for 13. Tanzid attempted an adventurous pull shot off a short delivery from Shardul, only for the ball to find a thick inside edge and hitting the leg stump. There was a hint of movement into the left-hander, as the ball uprooted the stump. While Shardul and other teammates were calm in their celebrations, Virat Kohli – not part of the XI – sprinted towards the field with drinks as the players celebrated the dismissal.
Shardul also went on to dismiss Anamul Haque in the first powerplay, as Bangladesh endured a poor start to their final game of the tournament. The Shakib Al Hasan-led side is already eliminated from the 2023 Asia Cup, following previous Super 4 defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Watch Kohli funnily sprinting towards his fellow India teammates after the wicket:
As a number of first-choice players rested for the game, the Indian team management opted to hand a debut cap to Tilak Varma, who impressed the side with consistent performances in the West Indies T20Is last month. Suryakumar Yadav, who also endured inconsistent outings in ODIs this year, was given a chance in the final Super 4 game while Shardul made a return, replacing Kuldeep.
The fans took note of Kohli’s act and praised him for his commitment towards the side:
India to face Sri Lanka in final
The top-2 most successful sides in Asia Cup history will contest in the final of the tournament on September 17 (Sunday) after Sri Lanka sealed a berth in the title clash with a thrilling win over Pakistan. In a rain-hit clash on Thursday, Sri Lanka registered a last-ball win as the match was first reduced to 45 overs, and was further curtailed to 42.
While Sri Lanka denied fans a third round of India-Pakistan match in the tournament, the two teams will renew their rivalry in the ODI World Cup as they meet in Ahmedabad on October 14.
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