Ishan Kishan's 80*, sharp fielding and Sooryavanshi's spark send India into the Asian Games final
India crushed Sri Lanka by 124 runs in Nisshin, bowling them out for 45 with three run-outs. And under VVS Laxman, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally looked at home in an India shirt.
India are into the Asian Games gold medal match. At Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Thursday, they posted 169 for 7 and then bowled Sri Lanka out for 45 in 9.5 overs to win the semi-final by 124 runs. They will face Pakistan for gold on Saturday, 3 October.
India vs Sri Lanka semi-final: the scores
- India 169/7 in 20 overs: Ishan Kishan 80* (46), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 38 (21)
- Sri Lanka 45 all out in 9.5 overs: Nuwanidu Fernando 15 (11)
- Result: India won by 124 runs
Ishan Kishan holds the innings together
Sri Lanka chose to field, and for long stretches of the innings their plan worked. Sahan Arachchige (2/28) and Tharindu Ratnayake (2/32) kept taking wickets, and after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fell, no other Indian batter apart from Kishan got past 13.
Kishan was the difference. He batted through the innings for an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls, with four fours and five sixes, picking his moments against the spinners and taking India from a shaky position to a total Sri Lanka never looked like chasing. Washington Sundar's 7 off 3 balls, including a six, gave the innings a late push.
It was the kind of knock India needed in a knockout game: patient when wickets were falling, then ruthless when the chance came.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's fearless start
Left out of the XI for the game against Japan, Sooryavanshi came back in for the semi-final and set the tone straight away. The 15-year-old hit 38 off 21 balls with six fours and two sixes before he was caught by Sineth Jayawardena off Arachchige.
It wasn't a big score, but it showed why so many people want to see him at the top of the order. He took on Sri Lanka's new-ball bowlers from the start, and his quick start gave Kishan the platform to bat around him. He also chipped in in the field, catching Arachchige off Axar Patel.
India's fielding was outstanding
Sri Lanka's chase never got going, and India's fielders deserve as much credit as the bowlers. Three of the ten wickets were run-outs:
- Ravi Bishnoi ran out Lasith Croospulle without him facing a ball
- Axar Patel and Sanju Samson combined to run out Nuwanidu Fernando, Sri Lanka's top scorer
- Tilak Varma ran out Tharindu Ratnayake
Samson also took a catch off Jasprit Bumrah and a stumping off Abhishek Sharma, and Washington Sundar, Abhishek and Sooryavanshi all held their catches. On a day when Sri Lanka needed something to go their way, India didn't give them anything.
Bumrah and Axar strangle the chase
Jasprit Bumrah struck twice in his two overs for just seven runs, including Sineth Jayawardena lbw for a duck. Axar Patel was even tighter, taking 2 for 8 in three overs with a maiden. Washington Sundar (1/18) and Abhishek Sharma (2/2 in five balls) finished it off inside ten overs.
Laxman backs Sooryavanshi where Gambhir hesitated
Today's game was also a reminder of how differently India's two coaches have handled Sooryavanshi.
Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, he was picked for the T20I tours of Ireland and England in June but was an unused squad member through the Ireland series, even as India lost it 2-0 and struggled at the top of the order. In England he got only a short run of three T20Is, scoring 14, 13 and 15, and was left out for the final match of the series in favour of Sanju Samson. The team management preferred the experience of the Samson and Abhishek Sharma opening pair.
VVS Laxman, who heads the BCCI's Centre of Excellence and is coaching India at the Asian Games while Gambhir is with the ODI side against West Indies, has taken a different view. He kept Sooryavanshi in the squad when he coached India in Zimbabwe, and today found room for him alongside Abhishek, Samson and Kishan rather than choosing between them. Sooryavanshi opened, Samson kept wicket at number three, and Kishan batted at five.
To be fair to Gambhir, Laxman also left Sooryavanshi out against Japan, and three low scores in England gave the senior team management a reason to pause. But today's semi-final showed that India can fit him into a strong T20 batting order, and that a 15-year-old who won the IPL Orange Cap can handle a knockout game. When Gambhir next picks a T20I squad, this innings will be hard to ignore.
Asian Games final: India vs Pakistan
India play Pakistan in the gold medal match on Saturday, 3 October. Check tryball.in for the IST start time, TV channel and live-streaming app.