129 balls, that’s all it took for India to lift Asia Cup title for a record 8th time. With Mohammed Siraj dismantling Sri Lankan batting line-up with 6/21 including the joint fastest fifer in ODIs, Rohit Sharma & Co bowled the hosts out for just 50 in 15.2 overs. Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill opened the innings and took just 6.1 overs to chase down the target in IND vs SL final (India vs Sri Lanka) to lift the trophy.
With Rohit Sharma ending the trophy drought after five years, check how players and coaches reacted from both sides.
Mohammad Siraj (Player of the Match): Feels like a dream. Last time I did the same against Sri Lanka at Trivandrum. Got four wickets early, couldn’t get the five-for. Realised you get what’s in your destiny. Did not try too much today. I have always looked for swing in white-ball cricket. Did not find much in the previous games. But today it was swinging, and I got more wickets with the outswinger. Wanted to make the batters drive.
Post match reaction: No biryani here. Have been bowling well since a long time. Was missing the edges earlier. But found them today. The wicket was seaming earlier, but there was swing today. Thought that I will bowl fuller because of the swing. When there’s good bonding between fast bowlers, it’s helpful for the team. I was thinking it would be great if I could stop the boundary. My best spell. This cash prize goes to the groundsmen. This tournament wouldn’t have been possible without them.
Rohit Sharma (India Captain): It was a great performance. To come out and play like that in the final shows the mental character. Great start with the ball and a clinical finish with the bat. I was standing in the slips, and something we take pride in – our seamers have been working really hard. Very very clear in their mind. It was good to see that. Such a performance we will cherish for a long time. I never thought it’s going to do that much. Comes down to the skillset of individuals. Siraj has to be given a lot of credit. Rare for seamers to move the ball in the air and off the pitch. He’s coming off age.
We did everything we could have achieved as a team in this tournament. Look forward to the series that is coming up in India, and then the World Cup. The way Hardik and Ishan batted in that pressure situation against Pakistan, and then KL and Virat getting hundreds. The way Gill has been batting. Guys have stood up at various stages.
Ishan Kishan: The bowlers were on point today. I would like to give credit to bowlers. Siraj and Bumrah. It’s not easy to bat in the second innings. We were prepared for any challenge, we spoke about it in the team meetings. I always love to open, the total wasn’t much, so it was a big yes (when asked to open) from my side. Can’t do much when you have only 50 runs on the board. But thanks to the skipper. We know our roles, we know how to prepare for the World Cup. We are playing against Australia, and I will be batting in the middle-order.
KL Rahul: I was a bit worried a couple of weeks ago, but got to play some good games against competitive teams. Scored runs and was good with the gloves, a few boxes ticked for me. Hopefully this continues for the next couple of months. I have been playing in Bangalore since four months, beautiful wickets for batting there. Happy that I got to spend time in the middle, it was a good challenge. Playing spin will be important in the middle overs in the World Cup, looking forward to that challenge. It’s good to play games where bowlers get help. Siraj was phenomenal. He did the job for us, and everyone else chipped in as well. We’ll take this win.
Shardul Thakur: It got over within the blink of an eye. Couldn’t get better than this. Bumrah started well and what a spell it was from Siraj. It was a brilliant effort from his side. Hardik got those last three wickets. It was a clinical performance by the bowlers. Gill and Ishan got done with the chase. I think it was more of a combination how we are going to play in the World Cup. KL Rahul scoring that ton against Pakistan, what a comeback for him. We feel that we are a settled side, everyone is ready to showcase their skills. Whenever I’ll play I’ll try to contribute for the team.
Hardik Pandya: As a group, we spoke about finishing games and throwing punches in the pressure situation. It was a good toss to lose, we wanted to bat as well. I think our new bowlers, especially Siraj bowled really well. He got it swinging and created a lot of chances. Nowadays in ODI cricket, the new ball has been swinging and we have been speaking about getting the most. The first few overs, the ball didn’t even hit the bat.
Kuldeep Yadav (Player of the Series): For last one and a half years, been working on my rhythm. Being more aggressive through the crease. Loving my bowling. In T20s also the length matters a lot. It’s about not thinking about wickets, just about the lengths. Have worked hard on that. Credit goes to Rohit bhai. He encouraged me to work on my speed. When fast bowlers give you couple of wickets in powerplay, it becomes easy for spinners.
Chris Silverwood (Sri Lanka Coach): It has been below par, the get bowled out the way we did is disappointing. Today we came up against a very high-class bowling attack, Siraj and Bumrah were exceptional, they bowl at a good pace as well. But at the same time, this is lacking as well. We came in here with some younger bowlers, we’ve seen some of them shine. Sadeera and Pathirana have really come through. I think we need to sleep on this and make some decisions tomorrow, best to assess this in the morning and discuss with the other coaching staff as well.
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka Captain): It was an outstanding bowling display from Siraj. I thought it’ll be a good pitch for batters, but overcast conditions played a part. Tough day for us at the office. We could’ve tightened our technique, would’ve helped batters to settle in and free their arms later. Lots of positives. The way Sadeera and Kusal batted against spin, Also the way Asalanka batted.
These three will score heavily in good batting conditions in India. We know how to bounce back from tough situations. We came into the final beating good sides. It’s a big plus. Players will continue good cricket from last couple of years. I would like to thank supporters who came in numbers. Sorry about the fact we disappointed you. Still thanks for the great support. And congrats to the Indian team.
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