Dubai : India beat Sri Lanka in a thrilling Super Over at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to remain unbeaten in the Asia Cup 2025. Charith Asalanka’s men fought hard, with Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant century taking the game down to the wire. Sri Lanka matched India’s total and forced a Super Over on Friday night.
Chasing 203, Sri Lanka finished on 202/5. Kusal Perera and Dasun Shanaka came out for the Super Over, but Arshdeep Singh struck twice. He dismissed one batter on the first ball and another on the last. Sri Lanka managed only two runs, leaving India a target of three.
Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill walked in to chase. Yadav needed just one delivery. The pair ran three off it, sealing a superb win for India.
Earlier, India had set 202/5. Abhishek Sharma led with a fine 61, while Tilak Varma added an unbeaten 49. Sanju Samson and Axar Patel chipped in vital runs to cross the 200-run mark.
Sri Lanka started their reply strongly. Nissanka and Perera put on 127 runs for the second wicket. India found a breakthrough in the 13th over when Varun Chakaravarthy removed Perera. Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh added quick strikes, but Nissanka powered on to score his maiden T20I century.
The match came alive in the final overs. Sri Lanka needed 23 from the last two and 12 from the last six. Harshit Rana dismissed Nissanka on the first ball of the 20th over. Even so, the Lankans held their nerve to tie the game and take it into a Super Over.
In the end, India chased the target with ease. Though already in the final, the result kept their unbeaten run intact. Sri Lanka, despite the loss, showed grit against the world’s top-ranked T20I side.
Brief scores:
India 202/5 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 61, Tilak Varma 49*; Maheesh Theekshana 1-36, Charith Asalanka 1-18) tied with Sri Lanka 202 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 107, Kusal Perera 58; Kuldeep Yadav 1-31, Varun Chakaravarthy 1-31, Hardik Pandya 1-7).
Super Over: Sri Lanka 2/2 in 1 over (Arshdeep 2-2) lost to India 3/0 in 0.1 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 3*).
— IANS
