In his match against Sri Lanka, former India captain Virat Kohli was dismissed without scoring, and former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq did not find his performance to be impressive.
On Tuesday, India suffered a devastating loss in the Asia Cup as they were defeated by Sri Lanka by a score of six wickets. Two days prior, Pakistan had beaten them in the first game of the Super 4 stage, so this setback came as quite a surprise.
In the game played against Sri Lanka, India’s captain Rohit Sharma scored a spectacular 72 off of just 41 balls, but it was in vain because the islanders were able to complete their chase of 174 with one ball to spare. Sri Lanka got 14 runs off the penultimate over that was bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, practically securing the victory for themselves after they needed 21 runs off of 12 balls.
No other batsman could score save for Suryakumar Yadav(34) and Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli, a former captain of India, was dismissed without scoring, and Inzamam-ul-Haq, a former captain of Pakistan, was not impressed with his effort.
“It took me by surprise when I saw Virat Kohli step up to the plate. A top player who looked like he was going to smash all of the batting records appeared to be struggling under the pressure, which both astonished and depressed me. After playing four dot balls, he appeared anxious about the game.
It sends a message to the dressing room that you are under a great deal of pressure when senior players give the impression of being tense, such as Rohit Sharma’s reaction when KL Rahul was dismissed despite the fact that he rarely shows any emotions “Inzamam mentioned this in a video that was uploaded to his channel on YouTube.
“There is a lot of strain on the youth players. It took me by surprise to see that. It’s possible that Seniors experience pressure on the inside, but it’s not shown in their body language at all. The message is also directed toward the people who oppose us. However, showing that you are struggling under pressure communicates the wrong message to both one’s own team and the team that they are competing against. Your team falls, while the other one climbs in the standings.”
In the game, the Sri Lankans were off to a blazing start as they chased a target of 174 runs. Openers Kusal Mendis (57 off 37 balls) and Pathum Nissanka (52 off 37 balls) piled on 91 runs at a quick rate during the contest.
Both batters were consistently finding the gaps and the boundaries with consummate ease, putting huge pressure on the Indian bowling attack that appeared bewildered against the optimistic approach adopted by the two Sri Lankan hitters. The fifty was reached in the sixth over.
However, Yuzvendra Chahal, a leg-spinner, had other plans, and he struck twice in the 12th over to put a stop to Sri Lanka’s advance.
Following the dismissal of Danushka Gunathilaka (1) by Ravichandran Ashwin in the 14th over, Sri Lanka found themselves in a precarious position with 110 runs for three. Chahal took the big wicket of Mendis in the first delivery of the next over when he trapped him leg before wicket in front of the wicket. This was a devastating blow for Sri Lanka, who suffered a body blow as a result.
But the captain of Sri Lanka’s side, Dasun Shanaka, together with Bhanuka Rajapaksa (also not out), stayed till the very end to finish the job for their team with a match-winning partnership of 64 runs for the fifth wicket.
