A bewitching, twisting game, strewn with comebacks and a tumult of emotions ended in a Super Over. But the one-over shootout was an anti-climax – Arshdeep Singh produced a fearsome over; three runs, two wickets, and a run-out off a dead ball. India wrapped up the chase on the first ball itself.
The twists came late and wicked. The suspense slow-burned, before 10 minutes of bedlam and a carnage of emotions. Before the penultimate over, Sri Lanka required 23 from 12 balls. The first half of Arshdeep’s over was perfect, then a pair of wides and a four last ball whittled the target down to 12 off six.
With Abhishek Sharma’s third half-century of the event, India posted 202 for 5 in 20 overs. Pathum Nissanka’s explosive batting brought Sri Lanka close to victory, but they ended on the same score.
Sri Lanka needed 12 runs off the last over from Harshit Rana and three off the final ball. Dasun Shanaka, remaining unbeaten at 22 from 11 balls, could only score two, leading to the Super Over.
In the Super Over, Arshdeep conceded just two runs and took two wickets in five balls. The target of three runs was easily achieved by skipper Suryakumar Yadav in a single delivery
During the chase, after Hardik Pandya dismissed Kusal Mendis in the first over, Nissanka (107 off 58 balls) and Perera (58 off 32 balls) launched a strong counter-attack, unsettling the Indian bowlers for the first time in the tournament.
Kuldeep Yadav (1/31 in 4 overs) and Varun Chakravarthy (1/31 in 4 overs) performed decently. However, Harshit Rana (1/54 in 5 overs), Arshdeep Singh (1/46 in 4 overs), and Axar Patel (0/32 in 3 overs) collectively gave away 132 runs in their 11 overs.
Despite this, Harshit and Arshdeep deserve credit for delivering crucial dot balls at critical moments.
Perera and Nissanka’s aggressive batting particularly troubled Arshdeep and the spinners, and Rana was heavily targeted.
Arshdeep and Harshit underperformed in the two matches they have played in the tournament. Harshit, in particular, may struggle to secure a spot in the 15-member squad for the next T20 World Cup unless head coach Gautam Gambhir intervenes.
