Mohammad Siraj, an Indian pace bowler, with figures of 6-21 led India to defeat home team Sri Lanka by 10 wickets and lift their eighth Asia Cup title on Sunday.
Indian Pacer Siraj bagged four wickets in his second over to restrain Sri Lanka to 50, a target the Indian openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill reached in 6.1 overs for an outstanding win ahead of next month’s ODI World Cup at home.
Sri Lanka’s wretchedly low total in the 50-over game left an almost packed house disappointed after they saw just 116 minutes of play.
The hosts chose to bat first after a delayed start due to rain and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah hit first with the wicket of Kusal Perera, caught behind for a duck in the first over.
Siraj shortly carried over as he drove the ball swing and seam in overcast conditions to easily beat his last ODI best of 4-32.
He got the wicket of Pathum Nissanka for two and then hit on straight balls to send back Sadeera Samarawickrama (0) and Charith Asalanka (0), but a hat-trick was averted.
Dhananjaya de Silva smashed a boundary but Siraj had him caught behind with the next ball, much to the charm of the Indian fans.
Siraj got his fifth with the wicket of Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka, equalling an ODI record for the fastest five-wicket haul from his first 16 balls of the contest.
Kusal Mendis smashed three boundaries before becoming Siraj’s sixth wicket, although Sri Lanka avoided the lowest-ever ODI total of 35 by Zimbabwe.
After the overthrow of Virat Kohli reached a boundary, and six more runs to the total, Sri Lanka pushed past their lowest ODI total of 43 scored against South Africa in 2012.
Hardik Pandya got three wickets to cover up the innings in just 90 minutes
Mendis’ 17 and an unbeaten 13 by Dushan Hemantha were the only double-digit scores in an innings that featured five ducks.
Shubman Gill began his inning with a boundary in the first over on his path to an unbeaten 27 and fellow opener Ishan Kishan (23) shortly joined the party.
The left-handed Ishan hit fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana for two straight boundaries, and three more in a row from Gill delivered India’s win in the tournament’s shortest final.
Rohit Sharma’s India fell just one game in the tournament after they lost an insignificant Super Four match against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka, who won the last edition of the Asia Cup played in the T20 format, reached in as underdogs and snuck into the Super Fours with a dramatic victory over Afghanistan but went down without a fight in their 11th final.
