India enter final with crushing win
The only real resistance to India's incredible march into the final was two sets of protesters who broke into the field on two separate occasions
The only real resistance to India's incredible march into the final was two sets of protesters who broke into the field on two separate occasions
Scorer: Gopi Rangarajan | Commentator: Siddarth Ravindran
Four easy wins in four for India now, belying the pre-tournament predictions about India's potentially struggling in this competition. Another prediction which proved off-target today was the weather forecast, with the rain mercifully staying away.
In the first match under proper English conditions, with the ball seaming and swinging, each of India's bowlers did their bit to stifle Sri Lanka's experienced batting unit. Then it was over to India's in-form openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, who with the help of some dropped catches made sure India wouldn't have any problems chasing down 182 to reach the final. Virat Kohli continued to be a major headache for Sri Lanka, making an unbeaten 58 - his eight half-century to go with his five hundreds against them - and Lasith Malinga continued to find the going difficult against India : 8-0-54-0.
Post-match presentation
Angelo Mathews: "The toss was crucial, we would have also bowled if we won the toss. The ball was seaming around, swinging around, the pitch was two-paced, our batsmen found it difficult. But credit should go the Indians."
MS Dhoni: "I think it is a well-written script, good toss to win, started well by the bowler, unfortunately for SL they lost Dilshan, we capitalised on that, then the bowlers bowled well, especially the spinners. I think it is important to have good bowlers in the side. The ball was still doing a bit., Bhuvnesh had already bowled 8 or 9, we wanted to keep some of the fast bowlers' overs for the death, so with Karthik around I think might as well give it a go. I thought even if it goes badly, I'll bowl one over. It went okay so I bowled another ... England are a very good side, and we have played a lot against them in the last couple of years."
Man of the Match is Ishant Sharma: "My strength is the bounce, I stick to my strength. I think up front U/mesh and Bhuvi bowled really well. I think the conditions were really favourable here, in the previous games the wickets were quite flat."
That's a wrap from me, but Sidharth Monga has just finished the match report, which I recommend reading. Also, watch out for stories from Nagraj Gollapudi and Andrew Fernando later in the day. And the Huddle featuring Ian Bishop and Sharda Ugra is live now.
It's been great to receive all the mails (and the headline suggestions) from you lot, join us again for the big final on Sunday. Cheers!
Plays of the day from the second Champions Trophy semi-final between India and Sri Lanka in Cardiff
India's batsmen will need to find a way to overcome Sri Lanka's most potent weapon
Fight carries Sri Lanka far into tournaments, but they lack the ruthless edge that winning titles requires
India's three seamers clicked as a unit for the first time in Cardiff to great effect
The only real resistance to India's incredible march into the final was two sets of protesters who broke into the field on two separate occasions