Asia Cup 2022: India all but out of final contention after Sri Lanka loss

A night to forget for Rohit Sharma & team!

Team India's hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final all but ended after Sri Lanka beat them by 6 wickets in Dubai. With the defeat, the Men in Blue have lost two in two in the Super 4 stage.

Chasing 174 for victory, Pathum Nissanka & Kusal Mendis got Sri Lanka off to the best possible start. The duo put together a superb 97-run opening stand that had India on the mat.
Yuzvendra Chahal's twin strikes though in the 12th over raised hopes of an Indian fightback. And when Danushka Gunathilaka & Kusal Mendis departed, with the score reading 110/4, Sri Lanka were under pressure.

But Bhanuka Rajapaksa & captain Dasun Shanaka mixed caution with aggression to perfection, taking the game deep without any more hiccups.

The Islanders needed 21 off the final 12 balls. Bhuvi's penultimate over leaked 14 runs and with 7 needed off the final 6 deliveries, Arshdeep nailed his yorkers right but still couldn't stop Sri Lanka from crossing the line.

Also read: Asia Cup 2022: India vs Sri Lanka - Rohit Sharma bails India out after poor start

Earlier, having been put in to bat, India lost both KL Rahul & Virat Kohli cheaply. While Rohit Sharma resurrected India's innings with a fabulous 72 off 41, the average finish by the lower order meant Rohit's men were always a few runs short.

India's destiny in Asia Cup is not in their own hands anymore and if Pakistan beat Afghanistan on Wednesday, the defending champions will have no way of making it to the final.