After winning their respective matches in Super 4 Stage of the Asia Cup 2023, India and Sri Lanka made it to the final of the Asia Cup 2023 and will clash against each other on 17th September 2023. Following is the India vs Sri Lanka preview of Asia Cup 2023 Final.
India vs Sri Lanka Today Match Preview
Both teams have squared off once in the tournament previously, with India winning by 41 runs. The margin was big but still the game went down the wire and the proof of this is that despite India winning, Dunith Wellalage was awarded MOTM for dragging the game towards the end.
India are coming into this game (final) after an upset defeat against Bangladesh, however, India’s did not feature their full strength side. Sri Lanka on the other hand is coming in the event after an exciting win against Pakistan by just 2 wickets in the Super 4 stage. Both sides have played competitive cricket and it is indeed hard to choose a winner.
The home advantage lies with Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka will be fuming for a revenge of their earlier defeat against India in the Super 4 Stage. India on the other hand have got in-form batters, in-form bowlers and their game plan has worked really well so far in the event. Moreover, both sides are the most dominant ones in Asia Cup history. If we talk about overall situation (ODIs+T20Is), India have 7 Asia Cup trophies while Sri Lanka has 6. It is a good chance for the Lankan Lions to level the record.
Meanwhile, talking about the conditions, the conditions are thought to be the same as super 4 stage. Heavy Rain is predicted and we do have a reserve day for this game. Moreover, the pitch behavior will also be the same, having some swing initially and then it becomes good for the batters with a little bit of help for the spinners. India will be without Axar Patel, while Sri Lanka have suffered the big blow of Maheesh Theekshana being ruled out of the final.
India Playing 11
Team India have called Washington Sundar following the injury of Axar Patel. It is expected that India will be going with 3 spinners and 2 pacers with Hardik Pandya being the 3rd seam option.
Probable XI: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul (wk) 5 Ishan Kishan, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Washington Sundar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammad Siraj
Sri Lanka Playing 11
Sri Lanka will definitely miss Theekshana, but their spin still has plenty to offer. With Wellalage, Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva the spin attack still looks quite decent and Sri Lanka do not have any other spinner on the bench, so a pacer will probably replace Theekshana.
Probable XI: 1 KJ Perera 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Dhananjaya de Silva, 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Pramod Madushan, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Matheesha Pathirana
Head to Head Record
India have won 97 ODI Matches against Sri Lanka, while Sri Lanka have managed to win 57 against India. A total of 166 matches have been played in the 50 over format of the game between the two nations. 1 game ended as tie while 11 have ended as No Result. Meanwhile in Asia Cup ODIs, both teams have won 10 games against each other in the 20 matches that have been played between them.
Players to Watch Out For
Shubman Gill scored a gutsy hundred in the last game of India against Bangladesh. He almost got India over the line with his 121(133). Eyes will be on him to see if he can do the same in the final. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are also in same good touch. Indian spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav has been brilliant. Not only their numbers are good in the event, but they have done well in crucial moments for the side. In the all important final, the spin attack will have to play a big role.
In Sri Lanka’s last match, Kusal Mendis did brilliantly well. He scored 91(87) and he also scored a fifty in the game against Bangladesh. Mendis has been in great rhythm at the top of the order and the Lankan fans will wish that he carries the same form in the final too. In the absence of Theekshana, a lot will depend on Wellalage. Wellalage throughout the tournament has played like a warrior, keeping his economy down, picking crucial wickets and then batting well too. He has dismissed the likes of Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma with no problem at all. The Breakout star, Dunith Wellalage will have everyone’s attention too in the final.
