Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka sounded disheartened after his team were hammered by 10 wickets in a one-sided Asia Cup 2023 final against India on Sunday and apologized to the Sri Lankan fans for the team’s lackluster performance 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 in style for the 8th time, after defeating fellow hosts in the final at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
He expressed his regret for losing the important final and thanked the crowd for turning out in such a big way to support the Sri Lankan team.
“I would like to thank the fans who came in numbers, I am very sorry that we have disappointed you. We as cricketers really love you. And congratulations to the Indian team for the kind of cricket they play,” said Dasun Shanaka in a post-competition presentation.
Siraj led India’s fast bowling effort and paced Sri Lanka in a dazzling performance during the summit clash. It took just over two hours for India to win its eighth Asia Cup title in style. Men in Blue lifted the Asia Cup trophy after five years.
Shanaka congratulated India on their victory and had wise words for Mohammed Siraj.
“It was an excellent piece of bowling from Siraj, it’s down to him how he approached the match. I thought it would be a good delivery for the batters but the cloudy conditions played a part and it was a tough, tough day .Of course “The application could have been better, could have tightened up our technique a bit to settle down and free up our arms in the middle period,” Shanaka said.
He also credited some of his players for their performances in this competition. He claimed to be a future celebrity and used the aliases Charith Asalanka, Kusal Perera and Sadeera Samarawickrama.
“A positive conclusion is the way Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis hit in the middle period in spinning conditions, as well as the way Charith Asalanka hit and he handles that pressure well. Under Indian conditions, these three will perform well and score heavily. Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana and the other two fast bowlers, Kasun Rajitha and Pramod Madushan, also believe they will do well in the upcoming World Cup. Without five main players, the good thing is that we got to the final with good sides. It’s a good sign from where we started two years ago,” he added.
In a spectacular display of bowling prowess, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 50 runs in just 15.2 overs, mainly thanks to Siraj’s exceptional performance, who claimed six wickets in seven overs.
In response, India chased down the target in just 37 balls at 10 wickets. This is the biggest win for India in terms of 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 DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article