India held their nerve to defend 213 against Sri Lanka in their Super Fours match of Asia Cup 2023 on Tuesday, September 10 in Colombo to qualify for the final of the tournament. India reached their 10th final in the Asia Cup after having clinched victories over Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Fours stages. Kuldeep Yadav shone with 4 wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 172.
Dunith Wellalage, who picked up 5 wickets and remained unbeaten on 42, won the Player of the Match award despite his team losing.
Bangladesh, who lost to both Sri Lanka and Pakistan, were eliminated from the race to the final.
It’s now just a two-way race to the final as Sri Lanka and Pakistan will meet in a virtual semi-final on Thursday in Colombo in their final Super Fours match.
India face Bangladesh in their final Super Fours match in Colombo on Friday and that’s a dead rubber.
Notably, India have the Asia Cup title 6 times and Pakistan 2 times but the two Asian giants have never met in the final of an Asia Cup tournament.
Will it happen this year?
ASIA CUP FINAL QUALIFICATION SCENARIOS
India – qualified for final
Remaining match – vs Bangladesh on September 15
Bangladesh – Eliminated
Remaining match – vs India on September 15
Sri Lanka – In the race
Remaining match – vs Pakistan on September 14
Sri Lanka are at the 2nd spot in the Super Fours table. Despite their 41-run defeat to India, they have a better Net Run Rate than Pakistan.
Sri Lanka need to win their match against Pakistan to be assured of a place in the final.
If their match on Thursday is washed out without a result on Thursday, they will go through on the basis of better Net Run Rate.
If Sri Lanka lose to Pakistan, they will be eliminated.
Pakistan – In the race
Remaining match – vs Sri Lanka on September 14
Pakistan need nothing less than a win over Sri Lanka to qualify.
They have an inferior Net Run Rate of -1.892 due to their 228-run defeat to India on Monday. In fact, they have the worst NRR in the Super Fours stage.
If their game is washed out on Thursday, they have no chance of making it to the final.
