Kohli, bowlers put India in final
Virat Kohli stroked his third fifty in as many T20s against Sri Lanka to send his team cruising to the Asia Cup final, after a tight bowling performance had restrained the opposition to 138 for 9
Virat Kohli stroked his third fifty in as many T20s against Sri Lanka to send his team cruising to the Asia Cup final, after a tight bowling performance had restrained the opposition to 138 for 9
Commentator: Karthik Krishnaswamy
11.10pm And that is that. An excellent performance from India, who are now through to the final? Who will join them there? Sri Lanka still have an outside chance, but they will need to beat Pakistan and hope that Pakistan beat Bangladesh. Lots of possibilities, so do join us for the rest of the tournament. Until next time, bye!
MS Dhoni: "I think consistent performance is very important. In the last 9-10 T20s we have played, we have done well. It was good to see a few of the others contributing as well. Yuvraj Singh's innings was crucial, not just for this match but for the team as well, good to see him get into some good form. Today's wicket was harder than some of the other wickets, but it was still a little soft, which allows the ball to grip and move around. It was good today, because you at least know it will be there for four overs or five overs. Overall, it was a track that was testing initially for the batsmen, but later on it was quite easy."
Virat Kohli is the man of the match. "Touchwood, it's coming out nicely now. Another crunch situation, 16 for 2. It's nice to challenge yourself. Kulasekara and Angie were bowling well. I knew I'm striking the ball well, so I have to take the pressure off the other batsman by hitting the odd boundary, but it has to be a cricketing shot. [Stepping out of the crease] was the plan, because all their seam bowlers bowl that good length. Except Chameera, the rest are all seam bowlers, so it was important not to let them bowl that length. If you're set on 25-30, the ball full of dew is a wonder, but when the ball changes you need to adjust with your bat flow and check your shot sometimes."
Angelo Mathews: "With the dew coming in, it felt like we were 20-25 runs short, but the Indians batted well, as always, and Virat was outstanding. If the wicket was like the previous one, it would have been a fighting total, but the dew came in and the ball started sliding through. We are depending heavily on our seniors, with the side we have. The seniors need to fire, otherwise we're in trouble."
"Felt pretty good," says Yuvraj Singh. "I needed those hits for my confidence. Not the easiest wicket to bat on, you need to go there and give yourself some time. My job was to go and play the situation, this game and the last game. Just happy I'm hitting the ball well."
WalidNisar: "Yuvraj has now more T20I sixes than Boom Boom Shahid Afridi"
Ishan Jain: "With this innings, Kohli's avg in T20Is has again crossed 50. Its 51.03 now."
Talha Hameed: "Most fifties in T20Is: Virat Kohli 13, Brendon McCullum 13, Gayle 13. "
Santosh: "Had Mathews already given up? Siriwardana instead of Kula and himself?"
10.51pm And with that India are through to the final. Sri Lanka dismissed both openers cheaply, and threatened to make a game of this, but Kohli, Raina and Yuvraj batted smartly to steer India home with a fair degree of ease.
Everyone's in the circle now.
The Mirpur pitch, topped with a layer of grass, has tested batsmen but India have displayed impressive temperament and skill to build for the World T20
Yuvraj Singh, whose cameo helped India beat Sri Lanka and seal their spot in the Asia Cup final, has said that his 'flow' is back
Sri Lanka's stand-in T20 captain Angelo Mathews has said that the seniors have not delivered, which has put their Asia Cup final chances in jeopardy
Virat Kohli stroked his third fifty in as many T20s against Sri Lanka to send his team cruising to the Asia Cup final, after a tight bowling performance had restrained the opposition to 138 for 9
R Ashwin believes Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah's ability to swing the ball in the Powerplay and hamper the batsmen later in the innings, has given India a whole new dimension to their attack