The Men In Blue secured a morale-boosting win over Sri Lanka in their Super 4 fixture of the Asia Cup 2023 on Tuesday. (More Cricket News)
India beat the home side by 41-runs and though the win might be 'huge' in terms of the conditions, Rohit Sharma's boys were given a scare by the Lankans in a low-scoring game at Colombo.
The Indian pacers, however, along with chinaman Kuldeep Yadav turned up the heat and snatched a memorable win that booked Team India's place in the final.
Former coach Ravi Shastri praised the win.
"It was a fabulous match and you must give credit to Sri Lanka as well. India were 80/0 and then to keep them to 213 with the spinners taking all the wickets for the first time against India. It was great effort. A young Dunith Wellalage What a performance from him. He took five wickets and then batted the way he did. He is way above his age," Ravi Shastri was quoted speaking on Star Sports
"They needed this kind of a match. You have to fight. You have to do well as a unit. You have to field well. It was a collective performance on the field. This will hold them in good stead in the final."
Kuldeep Yadav was yet amongst the wickets as the Sri Lankan batters had no clue to the spin and consistency shown by the former.
Rohit Sharma praised Kuldeep who had also bagged a fifer in the fixture against Pakistan.
"For the past year or so, bowling really, really well. He has done a lot of hard work on his rhythm," said Rohit.
"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."
India registered their second straight win in the Super 4 and by doing so, also ended Sri Lanka's 13-match winning streak in ODIs.
