Sri Lanka won the toss in the title clash of the Asia Cup 2023 and chose to bat against Rohit Sharma and Co. at the Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
Team India booked their progress to the championship match with 2 wins and a loss in the Super 4 round as they got the better of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, before losing a tight fixture to Bangladesh in the final fixture of the round-robin format stage of the continental tournament.
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The loss against the Bangla Tigers had no bearing on India’s route to the final as they had already sealed their place in the title fixture following their massive 228-run win over Pakistan and the subsequent 41-run win over the Lankan Lions.
Sri Lanka sealed their pathway into the final in thrilling fashion as they beat Pakistan in their virtual semi-final clash after having registered a win over Bangladesh and a loss to India.
The hosts won a truncated game against the Babar Azam-led side in the last ball of the 42-over game, with 2 wickets to spare.
The coin toss swung Dasun Shanaka’s way and the Sri Lankan skipper wanted to have a bat first considering the conditions of the wicket as he put Rohit’s men in blue to field first.
Following the toss, however, the start of the game was deferred due to rain and the delegation related to the maintenance of the ground was seen bringing the covers on with urgency to safeguard the integrity of the wicket as best as they can.
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India:
Rohit Sharma(Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul(w), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka:
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(Captain), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana