Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 1: Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 80 off 46 balls and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s quickfire 38 off 21 balls helped India post 169 for seven against Sri Lanka in the second men’s cricket semifinal of the Asian Games on Thursday.

With the pitch offering considerable turn, India brought Sooryavanshi back into the playing XI along with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was left out, leaving Jasprit Bumrah as India’s only pace-bowling option.

Sri Lanka, too, relied heavily on spin after opting to bowl first and managed to trouble the Indian batters on the turning surface. Only two overs of pace were used during the powerplay.

Abhishek gave India a quick start, smashing a six off Sri Lankan captain Sahan Arachchige before being dismissed for seven off three balls, caught at short third man.

Samson, who scored seven off nine balls, was then deceived by a straighter delivery from ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Ratnayake, who bowled left-arm spin to right-handers and off-spin to left-handers.

Sooryavanshi continued to attack despite the early wickets. After three overs of spin, Binura Fernando was introduced into the attack, and the 15-year-old struck him for a four and another boundary in successive deliveries.

He then reverse-swept Tharindu before hitting him for a six over long-on. His standout shot came when he pulled Fernando, helping India reach 58 for two at the end of the powerplay.
Sooryavanshi was dismissed soon after in similar fashion to Abhishek, caught at short third man off Arachchige.

The dismissals of captain Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel during the middle overs slowed India’s scoring rate before Kishan took charge against the Sri Lankan spinners.

Kishan relied on straight hitting rather than horizontal strokes, with four of his six sixes coming between long-on and long-off. He also struck four boundaries to remain unbeaten on 80 off 46 balls and guide India to 169 for seven.