India were quite dominant during the Asia Cup 2023 barring one defeat that came in an inconsequential game. They were in red-hot form, across departments, and outclassed hosts Sri Lanka on Sunday for a 10-wicket win to win the continental tournament for the 8th time in their history.
It was a tournament where several players stood up and performed under different situations. Shubman Gill finished as the standout performer with the bat, topping the batting charts with 302 runs from six innings at 75.50 including a century and two half-centuries.
Asia Cup 2023 Full Schedule | Asia Cup 2023 Complete Results | Asia Cup 2023 Full Coverage
India captain Rohit Sharma was pleased with the way the 24-year-old Gill performed, calling him a ‘batting freak’.
“…Gill, he’s in terrific form, he’s a batting freak. He likes to keep batting and it’s something that works for our team. A lot of the guys at various stages bailed the team out in pressure situations,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation.
India skittled Sri Lanka for a mere 50 runs inside 16 overs and then completed the chase in 6.1 overs. It was an all-round show from the champions with Mohammed Siraj playing a starring role with the ball, taking six wickets.
“It was a great performance, especially to come and play like that in a final. Shows the mentality of the team. Great start with the ball and then clinical finish with the bat,” Rohit said of the performance.
“Our seamers are actually working really hard for many years, so it’s pleasing for the side to see them rewarded like that. Very clinical. A performance like that will be cherished for a very long time,” he added.
It was Sri Lanka who opted to bat first before a rain-break forced a delayed start. Jasprit Bumrah took a wicket with the third delivery of the match and then Siraj left Sri Lanka in tatters with a four-wicket over.
“I never thought the ball was going to be doing that much, again it comes back to the skillset of the individuals. That’s very rare, you don’t see many guys who can move it in the air and off the pitch,” Rohit said.
He also recalled how different players put up a good show throughout the tournament starting with big fifties from Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan in India’s tournament opener against Pakistan after they were jolted by early blows.
In the Super 4 stage, India outclassed Pakistan with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hitting centuries before Kuldeep Yadav taking a five-for.
“And the other guys also who took part at various stages, they all played their part. We took all we can from this series, quite pleasing to move in this direction with this kind of confidence. The first game against Pakistan under pressure 4 down, how Hardik and Kishan batted in that pressure got us to that total. And then KL and Virat getting that hundred was brilliant to see,” Rohit said.
Comments
0 comment