CONQUERING ASIA!

-BY ANIRUDHA R NIJAGAL

Cricket fans in India elated!

What a moment!!!

India, on the 17th of September 2023 beat the defending champions, Sri Lanka in the Final of Asia Cup. India beating Sri Lanka in the final of a multinational event, tell me a better fairytale story. It was the sweetest comprehensive win for India as they went on to beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets. The major highlight of the match was that fierce spell by Mohammed Siraj. That first spell by him rattled the top order of Sri Lanka in no time.

It was a dry pitch at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo which forced Dasun Shanaka to put India to bowl first. It was a blessing in disguise for India as the loss of toss turned out to be sweet. Rohit Sharma also had mentioned at the toss that he also was looking to bat first on the wicket as it was obvious that it would become tough for batting under lights in the second innings. A bit of passing showers just before the game started… probably could have helped the pitch gain a little bit of moisture. And that was it, Indian pacers didn’t look back. They seized every opportunity put forth by the Sri Lankan batters and got them all out for a mere 50 runs. Such matches are rare in One-day format, but the sides which end up on the winning side in such matches are the ones who deserve it the most. DESTINY!!! That’s the word.

There have been many positives for India this Asia Cup. In the lead up to the all-important World Cup, it was a very important tournament for all the teams that took part in it. This event was held in wickets that are similar to the wickets in India. So, it was a multinational event that was looked upon as a preparation for the upcoming World Cup.

If we have to look at the positives for India in the tournament in the lead up to World Cup, it can easily be said that Indian team is looking really balanced and settled. Captain Rohit Sharma has dealt with every kind of situation and now has an idea of how to go about in the ICC Event. Rohit, now has become a very good captain who’s been leading from the front. He is giving the right inputs for the youngsters and has maintained a perfect relationship with the Senior players. The Virat-Rohit duo is just not a duo, but an emotion in India.

The middle conundrum was the real unsolved deal. But it seems India have a solution now. With the solution changing and becoming very obvious through the course of the tournament, it has been very unfortunate for Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas came back from an injury just before the Asia Cup, along with KL Rahul. Rahul was the one who actually missed out on first couple of games, but the recurring injuries of Shreyas Iyer eventually made way for the in-form wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan. He was brought into the 15-man squad as an ideal replacement. But KL Rahul at 4 and Ishan Kishan at 5 cemented their places with strong performances.

One of the most satisfying moments of the tournament for Indians was the Virat-KL partnership against the arch rivals Pakistan. They put up a 200+ partnership between them. Virat with his 77th International Hundred went on piling upon the records and adding feathers on top of his cap named “Benchmark”. The KING of cricket reigned supreme. KL Rahul batted his heart out in the Partnership with Kohli, by stealing doubles and triples. That set the standards high for the quality of running between the wickets which was a display of their enormous Fitness.

Kuldeep Yadav came into his own in the tournament. Return of Jasprit Bumrah is another fairytale. Fully fit Hardik Pandya, evergreen Ravindra Jadeja, Miyan magic, The Rohit-Shubman duo, King doing what he does best, the core fast bowling group going hand in hand with the spinners and what not. India looks ready for the upcoming HOME WORLD CUP 2023.

India is waiting for Rohit Sharma & co to lift the coveted International trophy on the 19th of November, making whole India proud. Hope the 2011 iconic moments return by wishing nothing but the BEST for Team India in the World Cup.

GO WELL, CHAMPS!