INDIA defeated Sri Lanka in a Super Over after their Asia Cup Super Four match ended in a tie in Dubai on Friday.
Pathum Nissanka hit 107 off 58 balls to power Sri Lanka’s reply to India’s 202-5. His effort took the match into a Super Over after Sri Lanka also finished on 202-5.
Arshdeep Singh bowled the Super Over and conceded only two runs. Kusal Perera cut the first ball to deep point and Dasun Shanaka was dismissed on the fifth delivery.
Suryakumar Yadav sealed the match for India with a boundary off the first ball of their Super Over. India have now won all six matches and will face Pakistan in the final on Sunday at the same venue.
Nissanka’s maiden T20 century included seven fours and six sixes. He added 127 for the second wicket with Perera, who scored 58. Varun Chakravarthy broke the stand by dismissing Perera as India’s spinners pulled the game back.
Harshit Rana dismissed Nissanka at the start of the final over with Sri Lanka needing 12 runs, and restricted them to 11.
Earlier, India batted first and reached 202-5. Opener Abhishek Sharma made 61 off 31 balls and shared a 59-run stand with Suryakumar, who scored 12. Abhishek, with a strike-rate of over 200 in the tournament, completed his third consecutive half-century with back-to-back boundaries.
Captain Charith Asalanka dismissed Abhishek before Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson added 66 for the fourth wicket. Samson made 39, while Varma scored 49. Axar Patel remained unbeaten on 21 to push India past 200.
India will meet Pakistan for the third time in the tournament. The two sides have not played a bilateral series in more than 10 years. Their group-stage and Super Four matches also ended without the customary post-match handshakes, with Suryakumar Yadav declining to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Agha.
(With inputs from agencies)
