Mohammed Siraj (R) celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka in Asia Cup 2023 final.© AFP
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka sounded discouraged after his team was hammered by 10 wickets in a one-sided Asia Cup 2023 final against India on Sunday and apologized to Sri Lankan fans for the teams lackluster display on the field. After speedster Mohammed Siraj’s fiery spell decimated Sri Lanka, the opening duo of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan’s fifty-run partnership helped India lift the Asia Cup trophy for the 8th time in style after beating co-hosts in the final at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
He expressed regret for losing the important final and thanked the crowd for showing up in great numbers to support the Sri Lankan team.
“I would like to thank the fans who came in numbers, really sorry that we disappointed you. We as cricketers really love you. And congratulations to the Indian team for the brand of cricket they’re playing,” Dasun Shanaka said in a post-match presentation.
Leading the India fast bowling effort, Siraj ran through the Sri Lanka top-order in a dazzling performance in the summit clash. It just took a little more than two hours for India to win their 8th Asia Cup title in style. Men in Blue lifted the Asia Cup trophy after five years.
Shanaka congratulated India on their win and had words of wisdom for Mohammed Siraj.
“It was an outstanding display of bowling from Siraj, credit to him how he approached the game. I thought it would be a good pitch for the batters, but the overcast conditions played a part and it was a tough, tough day. Of course, the application could have been better, could’ve tightened our technique a bit to settle down and free our arms in the middle period,” Shanaka said.Â
He also gave several of his players credit for their performance in this competition. He claimed to be a future celebrity and used the aliases Charith Asalanka, Kusal Perera, and Sadeera Samarawickrama.
“A positive takeaway is how Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis batted in the middle period in spinning conditions, as well as the way Charith Asalanka batted and he’s handling that pressure well. In Indian conditions, these three will perform well and score heavily. Also Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana and the two other fast bowlers as well in Kasun Rajitha and Pramod Madushan, think they will do well in the coming World Cup. Without five main players, the good thing is we came to the final playing good sides. It’s a good sign from where we began two years ago,” he added.
In a spectacular display of bowling prowess, Sri Lanka was bowled out for a mere 50 runs in just 15.2 overs, mainly due to Siraj’s exceptional performance, claiming six wickets in seven overs.
In response, India chased down the target in merely 37 balls by 10 wickets. This is the largest victory for India, by the number of balls remaining in the innings and also the biggest defeat for Sri Lanka.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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