Asia Cup boasting it to be more of a preparation for the T20 World Cup, India were dealt a harsh lesson by Sri Lanka on Tuesday night. All of Team India’s inadequacies came to the surface as Sri Lanka, with immaculate planning and indomitable spirit, took pole position to make the final by chasing down 174 with one ball and six wickets to spare. India, who have played musical chairs with its playing XI, find themselves hoping for a miracle to make the final having lost both their Super 4 matches. Fearless, carefree and aggression—everything Team India aspired to achieve in the tournament—were Sri Lanka’s virtues on the night. 10 months on from the debacle of T20 World Cup here in UAE, India still find themselves vulnerable in crunch games. As It HappenedOpeners Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis set the tone for the chase, hammering 97 for the first wicket in 11.1 overs. Both of them faced 37 balls each and scored 52 and 57 respectively. Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin (who came in for Ravi Bishnoi) drew India back into the contest 3/34 and 1/32 in the middle overs. But captain Dasun Shanaka (33* off 18) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (25* off 17) put on an unbeaten partnership of 64 in 34 balls to expose the lackluster death bowling of India who were crippled by lack of bowling options.
