India has won its eighth Asia Cup title after thrashing Sri Lanka by ten wickets in Colombo, with Mohammed Siraj‘s breathtaking six-wicket haul headlining Sunday’s one-sided final.
The hosts were rolled for 50 in just 15.2 overs after Siraj’s golden spell of 6-21, which included four wickets in an over, ripped the heart out of Sri Lanka’s top order at R Premadasa Stadium. It was the second-best bowling performance in Asia Cup history, with five Sri Lankan players departing for a duck.
India only needed 6.1 overs to chase the pitiful target, filling Rohit Sharma’s side with confidence ahead of the upcoming World Cup. It was the third-shortest ODI in history, lasting just 129 deliveries.
MATCH CENTRE: Sri Lanka vs India, Asia Cup final scorecard
The start of the tournament finale was delayed due to rain, but Indian seamer Jasprit Bumrah only needed three deliveries to snare the first breakthrough when play eventually got underway. Sri Lankan opener Kusal Perera departed for a second-ball duck after edging Bumrah’s gorgeous outswinger through to wicketkeeper KL Rahul, who claimed a smart catch low to his left.
But the worst was yet to come for Sri Lanka.
Siraj’s bowling masterclass began in the fourth over, with opener Pathum Nissanka chipping a wide delivery towards Ravindra Jadeja at point for 2. Two deliveries later, Siraj trapped Sadeera Samarawickrama on the pads for a second-ball duck, with the right-hander wasting a review before trudging off.
Siraj found himself on a hat-trick after removing Charith Asalanka the following delivery for a golden duck, with the Sri Lankan No. 5 driving a full delivery towards point, where Ishan Kishan swallowed a regulation catch. Dhananjaya de Silva fended the hat-trick ball through mid-on for a boundary, but departed the following delivery after fishing outside off stump and edging through to Rahul.
Out for 50! India RIP through Sri Lanka | 04:15
Best bowling performance for India in men’s ODIs
6/4 – Stuart Binny vs BAN, 2014
6/12 – Anil Kumble vs WI, 1993
6/19 – Jasprit Bumrah vs ENG, 2022
6/21 – MOHAMMED SIRAJ vs SL, 2023
6/23 – Ashish Nehra vs ENG, 2003
Sri Lanka had collapsed from 1-8 to 5-12 in six deliveries, silencing the gobsmacked home crowd. Siraj’s demolition continued in his following over, with the right-armer producing a stunning outswinger that knocked over rival captain Dasun Shanaka’s off stump. The 29-year-old had secured his maiden ODI five-wicket haul in just 16 deliveries.
“The plan was to keep it simple and execute my line and length, and I kept getting wickets,” Siraj laughed during the innings break.
“My only thing when I play white-ball cricket is that I would try to swing the new ball at the start. But here, there wasn’t a lot of swing on offer in the initial matches. Today it swung, so I tried to make the batsman play as much as possible.
“It’s nice when it catches the edge. I have not picked up a lot of wickets with my outswing — today I got a lot of wickets with my outswing, so that felt very good.”
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The carnage briefly paused, with Kusal Mendis and Dunith Wellalage combining for a 21-run partnership for the seventh wicket. However, Siraj bagged his sixth wicket in the 12th over, rattling Mendis’ middle stump for 17 (34).
Hardik Pandya joined the party in the 13th over, with Wellalage gloving a bouncer through to Rahul for 8 (21) to expose Sri Lanka’s tail.
Dushan Hemantha (13 not out) guided Sri Lanka beyond its lowest total in ODI history before Pandya cleaned up the tail, knocking over Pramod Madushan and Matheesha Pathirana in consecutive deliveries to finish with figures of 3-3.
Indian openers Ishan Kishan (23 not out) and Shubman Gill (27 not out) made short work of the 51-run target, chasing the tally in just 37 deliveries. It was India’s largest victory in men’s ODIs in terms of balls remaining.
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