Dunith Wellalage was firing all cylinders from the other end but Hardik kept up the pressure with some tight bowling as India squeezed the runs against Sri Lanka.
Team India bagged a spot in the final of the Asia Cup 2023 with a nervy 41-run win over Sri Lanka in the Super 4 encounter, in Colombo. The Indian pacers along with spin wizard Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled the Sri Lankan batters as the hosts were bowled out for 172. Kuldeep's four wicket haul was the major talking point but skipper Rohit Sharma praised all-rounder Hardik Pandya after the latter's performance in the match. (More Cricket news)
Pandya put up a tremendous display with the ball as the bowler toiled hard and did not give away any margin for error. In his five overs, Pandya scalped a wicket of Maheesh Theekshana and gave away only 14 runs.
Dunith Wellalage was firing all cylinders from the other end but Hardik kept up the pressure with some tight bowling as India squeezed the runs against Sri Lanka.
"He (Hardik) has worked really hard in his bowling for the last couple of years. It doesn't happen overnight and it's pleasing to see. He looked like taking a wicket off every ball. Was not an easy target to defend as the pitch got easier at the end and we had to put it consistently in one area and I think we did quite well," Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
Rohit also lavished praise on spinner Kuldeep Yadav who became the second-fastest to 150 ODI wickets after Mohammed Shami.
"For the past year or so bowling really really well. He has done a lot of hard work on his rhythm. He went back to the drawing board and worked on it. The ball is coming out nicely and you can see the results in the last 10 ODIs," Rohit added.
With this win, India are into the final of Asia Cup 2023. Sri Lanka and Pakistan will play out a virtual semi-final with the winner booking a spot alongside India.