Asian Games: India beat Sri Lanka to enter men’s cricket final

Nisshin: Defending champions India thrashed Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the men’s cricket semi-final of the Asian Games here at the Karogi Sports Park on Thursday and cruised smoothly into the final, where a high-profile clash against Pakistan awaits.

Sri Lanka was bundled out for just 45 after it went up against India’s first-innings total of 169 for seven.

India’s win over Sri Lanka was set up by Ishan Kishan, who held together his team’s batting effort with a 46-ball 80. This was after opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made an impact by scoring 38 from just 21 balls.

Sri Lanka’s chase never really took off, with pacer Jasprit Bumrah striking twice in the first over.

Indian spinners then strangled the Lankan batters on a pitch where the ball was turning square. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Abhishek Sharma took five wickets beween them in a dominant showing.

Sri Lanka contributed to its downfall through some poor running between the wickets, with three of its batters getting run out.

India, the defending champions at the Games, will now face Pakistan on Saturday, who beat Bangladesh in the other semi-final, eyeing a top-of-the-podium finish for a second consecutive time.

Brief Scores: India 169/7 in 20 ov (Ishan Kishan 80 not out, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 38; Sahan Arachchige 2-28, Tharindu Ratnayake 2-32) beat Sri Lanka 45/10 in 9.5 ov (Nuwanidu Fernando 15; Abhishek Sharma 2-2, Jasprit Bumrah 2-7, Axar Patel 2-8) by 124 runs. Agencies

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