Asia Cup 2023: Key takeaways for India after 41-run win over Sri Lanka

With India managing only 213 runs, it was a great test for the Indian bowling attack to eke out a victory for their team and defend the below-par total in ODI cricket. And they manage to eke out a win

Indian bowlers rose to the occasion on Tuesday (September 13) to notch up a 41-run win over Sri Lanka in the low-scoring Super 4 game of Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo. With India managing only 213 runs, it was a great test for the Indian bowling attack to eke out a victory for their team and defend the below-par total in ODI cricket.

And they did it, which is a great sign ahead of the World Cup in India.

Fiery spells from Bumrah and Siraj

The Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj produced a fiery spell upfront. The big positive for India ahead of the World Cup was Bumrah's opening spell. He bowled five overs in his first spell with amazing intensity and did not allow Sri Lankan batters to settle in. 

Siraj ably supported the Indian lynchpin and used his pace effectively, hurrying batters with bounces and good length deliveries. 

"It was a good game. For us also to play a game like that under pressure. Challenged many aspects of our game," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Hardik Pandya's spell in the death overs 

Hardik was nearly unplayable in the latter stages of the game. With Dinuth Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva notching up a 50-run stand and finding boundaries regularly, Pandya produced many false shots from the duo and kept the pressure from one end. Though he was not the one who broke the threatening 63-run stand, his fiery spell did help Ravindra Jadeja to get rid of de Silva, who tried to break the shackles by hitting one over mid-on but failed to clear Shubman Gill. Pandya's match figures of 1-14 in 5 overs speaks volumes about his bowling.

Pandya even earned praise from the captain after the match.

"He's (Hardik) worked hard on his bowling over the last couple of years, and it's pleasing to see how he bowled that spell. Not an easy target to defend. The pitch got slightly better towards the end, so we had to hold our nerve and bowl consistently," the skipper said.

Kuldeep-KL combo

Kuldeep once again emerged as the best bowler for India with the figures of 4-43. He started brilliantly but failed to invoke false shots from Sri Lanka batters, who were ready to play him out with singles and doubles. But it was KL Rahul who, from behind the wickets, gave valuable suggestions to India's chinaman bowler. KL's suggestion finally helped India eliminate Sadeera Samarawickrama, who has been scoring runs in heaps in the Asia Cup.

"(Kuldeep) again for the past year or so, bowling really well. He's worked hard on his rhythm, and you can see the results in the last 15 ODIs he's played. He gives us a lot of options. So in the future, it's a pretty good sign."