Sri Lanka rose from the dumps of out of the Asia Cup to leaving a lingeringy impact to reaching the very brink of breaking high riding India’s unbeaten run chasing 205 to settling for a dramatic super four tie on a superlatively magnificent Pathum Nissanka breathtakingn Player of the Match innings of 107 off just 58 balls lit up by 6 to the stands and 7 across to a final over high drama fought out by Dasun Shanaka after India grabbed 3 quick wickets for 29 runs in a pushback with as the former captain battled out a last over tie against a shell shocked India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

With 12 needed off nine balls, Nissanka fell to the first ball of the last over by Harshit Rana, caught at short fine leg, which saw debutant Janith Liyanage swipe the first ball for 2 and run a bye.

Nine off three, the huge pressure of one false shot, Shanaka took it on as the former captain heaved Harshit Rana to deep mid wicket for 2. Into boiling point seven off, two Shanaka heaved the ball for 4 from the slot over short third man that took the outside edge. Three off the final delivery was not for the weak as the gangling Shanaka rode it bat finding ball square off the wicket screaming down for 2 as he went down creasing that prevented what would have been the winning run as Rana, the fielder fumbled with the ball, thus the super four ending in a fascinating tie that took it to the super over that the Lankans disappointed badly as the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav struck the very first ball from Wanindu Hasaranga for the winning three runs.

That bad ending saw Kusal Janith Perera, who had smashed a ding dong game changing blistering 58 off 32 balls smashing 8 boundaries and a six in lifting Sri Lanka from 1 for 0 to 2 for 134 in 12.2 overs after Kusal Mendis’ first ball dismissal, however fell lamely in the first ball of the super over caught and bowled by Singh while Shanaka was caught and bowled Singh for a third ball duck with next in Kamindu Mendis scraping a single.

As I was, Nissanka and Perera had risen like a storm in shredding the Indian attack, minus the rested Jasprit Bumrah, in hoisting 134 for the second wicket that took Sri Lanka from the gloom of an Asia Cup let down to so close to what would have been a resounding triumph to go with.

That Nissanka fell at the very doorstep of doing it was written in the regret on his face as he walked off, put out by a crashing shot that sped straight into the fielder’s waiting hands.

India’s innings, put in to bat, did not take off rosily with Mahees Theekshana sending out Shubnam Gill inducing India’s new found batting sensation to playing back a sharp delivery into his hands for a third ball 4 as India lost two more wickets reaching 92 for 3 into 8.4 overs when their big gun Abhishek Sharma fell for a 31 balk 61 to Asalanka who had him caught by Kamindu Mendis following the dismissal of the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav leg before wicket to Hasaranga for 12 when the score was 74 after 6.5.

But forceful contributions from Tilak Var,m a, who batted through for 49 off 34 with 4 boundaries and 6, and Sanju Samson, 39 off 33 in the heave of 3 sixes and a boundary, propped up India to 205 for 5 in the 20, with Axar Patel together with Varma on 21 off 15.

India 202 for 5 (Abhishek 61, Tilak 49, Theekshana 1-36) tied with Sri Lanka 202 for 5 (Nissanka 107, Perera 58, Kuldeep 1-31, Varun 1-31)
India won in a super Over
Sri Lanka 2/2
India 3/0 Suryakumar Yadav 3 (1)