A cracker of a contest
It has been tough on the teams in the high humidity, especially for India who have been on the field for three days in a row now, but what a cracking contest we have had.
Full marks to the ground staff who managed to roll out a good pitch despite all the rain and little time to prepare the track.
The first passage of play was 80 runs in 11 overs when Rohit Sharma bolted away from Sri Lanka. In the next passage, the 20-year-old Dunith Wellalage announced himself with the quick wickets of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit. Then KL Rahul showed what a good middle-order batter he is with 39 off 44, but Wellalagae again brought Sri Lanka back, aided by a turning track and an array of batters who can bowl part-time spin. Charith Asalanka ended up with four wickets, three more than he had in international cricket before today.
Under lights, the pitch is usually expected to get better, but Jasprit Bumrah and Moahmmed Siraj ran through the top order even before spin came on. When spin did come on, it turned a mile, and Sri Lanka were 73 for 5 in no time.
Dhananjaya de Silva batted beautifully, and around him Dunith Wellalage caught India unawares in a 63-run seventh-wicket stand.
When India began to string together tight over, a slight misjudgement from de Silva turned the game around again when he just got too close to the ball when trying to loft Ravindra Jadeja over mid-on.
India came roaring back, and are through to the finals after three gruelling days on the field. That's all from me tonight. See you soon.
Spare a thought for Wellalage, though, who was left stranded after a five-for and 42 off 46 in tough conditions.
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150 for Kuldeep
10 Number of bowlers who have reached 150 wickets quicker than Kuldeep Yadav's 88 matches. Mitchell Starc tops the list with 77. Kuldeep is the second-quickest Indian to the mark behind Mohammed Shami
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Kuldeep wipes off the tail
And as soon as he sees an opening, Rohit Sharma goes to Kuldeep Yadav's wristspin, and he bursts through the opening to bowl both Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana. India win by 41 runs, and go through to the final.
Kuldeep now has 150 ODI wickets.
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Pandya gets his reward
A key reason India have made a comeback against the momentum of the de Silva-Wellalage partnership has been Hardik Pandya. He is into the fourth over of a testing spell, and has finally got a wicket to show for it. His pace has been up, he has been hitting the deck hard, and has given nothing to the batters. Finally Maheesh Theekshana chips a length ball low to mid-on. Now they need 43 with two wickets in hand and 55 balls to go.
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Jadeja 10-0-33-2
It hasn't been the luckiest night for Ravindra Jadeja. He has had a catch dropped, he has come closing to clipping the off stump after turning the ball from middle, he has narrowly missed a run-out, but he has been at it. Impressive returns of 10-0-33-2.
Sri Lanka now need 44 off the last 10 overs. They have one Kuldeep Yadav over left, but India don't need to bowl him: they have enough overs of seam left. I suspect Rohit has kept that Kuldeep over back as the x-factor should he be needed.
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De Silva falls
Dunith Wellalage's response to that spell of pressure: a lovely off-drive after stepping out to Ravindra Jadeja. Two balls later, Dhananjaya de Silva decides that is not enough release and tries to go against the turn and in the air. Jadeja is just too full and too close to him to let him get the elevation. Caught at mid-on. Jadeja 9-0-31-2. Now 52 needed off 72 with three wickets in hand.
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Wellalage joins forces with de Silva
For the first time in the second innings, India are under real pressure. Dunith Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva dragged India back with their bowling partnership after their great start, and they are doing so with the bat now. De Silva's prowess against spin is well known, but Wellalage has been a real surprise for India. He is hardly getting caught on the wrong foot, using both the sweep and the depth of the crease, and the two have now added fifty, bringing down the requirement to 64 off 98. Wellalage is 26 off 28 including a stunning slog-swept six off Kuldeep Yadav, and de Silva 38 off 55.
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Axar 5-0-28-0
Just an example of why it is not easy to just slot in for one match in a long time and be effective immediately. This looks like a tailormade pitch for Axar Patel, but he hasn't had much bowling to do recently so he hasn't looked menacing like the other two spinners. He hasn't drawn the same amount of turn nor has he been as accurate. Sri Lanka are still in it at 125 for 6 in 30 overs.
Dhananjaya de Silva is the key man here at 31 off 47.
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We have a game
Whatever happens from here, we will have a result because we have had 20 overs bowled. And in the 20th, Kuldeep dismissed the other set batter, Charith Asalanka, who again chose the wrong line to sweep. It is his go-to shot, and he has been good at playing the shot from outside off. This time, though, he again went at a straight ball, and gloved it into his pad for a catch for KL Rahul. At 73 for 5, they are well behind the DLS par score.
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Kuldeep ends threatening stand
Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama had their nervous moments, but they have also been good around those moments. They added 43 for the fourth wicket.
The spinners have perhaps been guilty of bowling for wickets instead of bowling well and letting the wickets come as a result. And then in the 17th over, Ishan Kishan dropped Asalanka in the deep off Jadeja. A rare sweep by Asalanka from a straight line, and the top edge ensued. He has been good at picking the right line to sweep until then.
Tensions rising in the match. And eventually Samarawickrama just stepped out for a big hit when he had actually been good at working the singles. Kuldeep was good enough to get dip and turn past him to have him stumped. Sri Lanka 68 for 4 in the 18th over.
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Kuldeep Yadav the first spinner
Kuldeep Yadav's left-arm wristspin is introduced first, and he nearly gets a wicket immediately. Beautiful drift into Charith Asalanka, then turn against the angle, just misses the edge. Rohit Sharma, though, uses the review and loses it.
And immediately we have spin at both ends. And the first ball from Ravindra Jadeja has turned a mile.
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Powerplay done
The powerplay is done at 39 for 3 but India still persist with seam. Hardik Pandya replaces Jasprit Bumrah, but surely the next over will be bowled by spin.
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Siraj shushes someone
Been a while since I have seen that. Miyan Bhai takes a wicket and shushes someone somewhere. It is again a beautiful delivery: wobble seam, pitches within the stumps and then seams away from Dimuth Karunaratne, who edges a cut. Lovely catch by Shubman Gill, who is at one-and-a-half slip. It is flying quickly off a proper cut. Gill took it overhead with ease. Sri Lanka 25 for 3. And three wickets gone even before spin has come on.
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Bumrah magic
One of the most lethal slower balls is the one that comes from a fast-arm action and dips on you. Jasprit Bumrah ticks both boxes. After Kusal Mendis' positive start, Bumrah breaks through with a bewitching slower ball that he lobs to extra cover because he has been done in completely.
Look at the sequence of deliveries. First ball, good length, Mendis lofts over wide mid-on. Second ball, bouncer. Third ball, yorker. And then the slower ball. Sri Lanka 25 for 2 in the seventh over. I don't think he will bowl a fifth over in this spell. His figures: 4-1-16-2.
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Bumrah strikes
India open with seam, with Jasprit Bumrah and Moahmmed Siraj taking the new balls. At the start of the third over, Bumrah bowls the perfect delivery: on a good length, just outside off, making you play the angle, then holding its line and taking the edge. Sri Lanka 7 for 1.
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Do India have enough?
842 votesYes
No
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Spun out
1 The first time that India have lost all 10 wickets to spin in an ODI.
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India 213 all out
All 10 wickets fall to spinners but Sri Lanka don't quite give Charith Asalanka a shot at the five-for as they give the 49th over Pathirana. Team above individual. Axar Patel manages to hit one six before he holed out. India have added 16 since the rain. Sri Lanka have 214 to chase in 10 minutes.
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Restart at 7.15pm
So we have lost 52 minutes of play, which means we still have all the overs intact. India's last pair will come out to bat for three overs. The innings break will be only 10 minutes to that makes it only 32 minutes lost.
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Why they don't prefer super sopper in SL
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And the rain arrives
The hard-working ground staff have to be at it again. Dark angry clouds above the ground, and pretty soon it starts raining. Covers come in. India 197 for 9 in 47 overs. Wellelaga 5 for 40 in his 10, Asalanka 4 for 18 in his nine. Remember we start losing overs only after we lose 90 minutes of play.
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Asalanka on a roll
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Charith Asalanka has run through India's lower order with his part-time offspin. In the 43th over, he bowled Jasprit Bumrah through the gate and and then had Kuldeep Yadav caught at slip in consecutive deliveries. India 186 for 9 in 43 overs.
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Sri Lanka's part-timers
10 Number of overs, out of 41, that have been bowled by the quicker bowlers. Sri Lanka have an army of batters who can bowl part-time spin if the pitch is helpful. Dhananjaya de Silva has bowled 10 overs for 28, Charith Asalanka six overs for 24 runs and two wickets. It has made sure they don't have to go back to fast bowlers, who went for 81 for 0 in 10 overs.
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Asalanka has two
82 Charith Asalanka's average in ODIs before this match, having bowled 84 balls for 82 runs and a wicket in 38 matches. Now he has two, the second one a ripper that has turned from outside leg to take the edge of Ravindra Jadeja. Asalanka's figures today: 5-0-10-2. And now only one recognised batter left: Axar Patel. India 178 for 7 in 39 overs.
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Wellalage 10-0-40-5
With the last ball of his quota, Dunith Wellalage has Hardik Pandya on the forward-defensive. Just takes the edge on the way through as in turns past him. Not given on the field but DRS gives him the five-for. He has drawn a false response 12 times, that is one in five times. A maiden five-for for Wellalage. India 172 for 6 in 36 overs.
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Kishan falls too
Finally someone other than Wellalage takes a wicket, but the catch has been taken by him. It is Charith Asalanka with his part-time offspin. A half-volley that Ishan Kishan expectedly tries to take a boundary off, but the slowness of the pitch means he hasn't timed it and is caught at extra cover. India were 80 for 1 in 11 overs; since then they have lost 5 for 90 in 23.2 overs. They are 170 for 5.
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Add Rahul to Wellalage's victims
Kl Rahul has looked the most comfortable batter since the ball started turning, but even he is gone now. He is 39 off 43, reasonably set, and is probably thinking easy runs when Wellalage drops one short, but the ball stops in the surface and he ends up chipping one back to the bowler. India 154 for 4 in 30 overs, all four to Wellalage.
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Rahul, Kishan build
KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan have slowly started to rebuild, adding 37 for the fourth wicket in nearly 10 overs. Sri Lanka have had spin on on both ends, but Rahul and Kishan have looked okay. Rahul has been more fluent, using the depth of the crease and also sweeping. India 127 for 3 in 25 overs.
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Wellalage 2.1-1-2-3
Dunith Wellalage now has three, and then third one is the set Rohit Sharma. He pushes this one through, Rohit plays for the turn, and not only does this not turn, it also shoots through. India 91 for 3 from 80 for 0. The Premadasa Stadium has come alive.
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Wellalage has two
What wickets to have. Shubman Gill first and now Virat Kohli. The ball is gripping just that little bit, and Wellalage has been accurate. As Kohli sees one that is slightly short, he goes back to whip it through leg but the ball stops on him and lobs for a catch to short midwicket. India 90 for 2 in 14 overs.
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Fifty for Rohit
40 Number of runs, out of 52, that Rohit Sharma has scored in boundaries. It almost looks like he is having a net in the middle
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Wellalage gets Gill
It is his first ball. Things look like they are going to get ugly. India are 80 for 0 in 11 overs. And Dunith Wellalage starts with the perfect delivery: angling in from around the wicket, pitching middle, turning past the edge and hitting the off stump. Shubman Gill is defending, but is beaten on the outside edge. India 80 for 1 in 11.1 overs now. In comes Virat Kohli. Batting for a third straight day.
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Powerful end to powerplay
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That's the 10th over, bowled by Dasun Shanaka to Rohit Sharma. India race away to 65 for 0, Rohit 39 off 37.
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Rohit Sharma on Mount 10k
With his 285th ODI six, Rohit Sharma has now become only the 15th man to get to 10000 ODI runs. Average of 49, strike rate of 90. Three double centuries. He is the second-fastest to 10000 behind only the ODI king Virat Kohli. Only two men have hit more sixes than Rohit: Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi. India 44 for 0 in eight overs.
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Another good start for India
After successive hundred-run stands, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have got India off to a solid start again. The pitch doesn't have much pace or bounce but there is some swing on offer. Sri Lanka have opened with Kasun Rajitha and Maheesh Theekshana. India 25 for 0 in five overs.
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Scenarios
What if India win today? They will be through to the finals, and Bangladesh will be knocked out. That and more such scenarios in Sampath Bandarupalli's piece on all permutations and combinations.
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March to 10k
22 Number of runs Rohit Sharma needs to get to 10,000 ODI runs. He has got four of them with a cover-drive in the first over
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Sri Lanka's streak
13 Number of ODIs Sri Lanka have won on the trot, their longest winning streak in the format
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Axar Patel plays, India bat first
On a drier pitch with no grass, India bolstered their spin attack by bringing in Axar Patelm in place of Shardul Thakur. They won the toss and decided to bat first, which is what they wanted to do against Pakistan as well.
That everybody else pulled up well on a third straight day of cricket augurs well for India in terms of fitness. They all got into the pool so that they recover well.
Sri Lanka made no changes to the XI that beat Bangladesh in their first Super Four match.
India RG Sharma*, Shubman Gill, V Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan†, HH Pandya, RA Jadeja, AR Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, JJ Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka P Nissanka, FDM Karunaratne, BKG Mendis†, S Samarawickrama, KIC Asalanka, DM de Silva, MD Shanaka*, DN Wellalage, M Theekshana, CAK Rajitha, M Pathirana
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Same place, same time
If you have any unresolved issues with me, any scores to settle, any messages to deliver, I am not hard to find. I am right here doing Live Report what feels like everyday. Last two days, it was India against Pakistan. Today it is India against Sri Lanka. Well at least I am not sweating it out in the oppressive humidity of Colombo like the Indian team. It is going to be a big job to back it up after yesterday.
Sri Lanka have two points but they want to move to four because India will be playing the last match and will know exactly what to do to get to the final in terms of net run rate.
The ground staff have yet another job on their hands. To get the ground ready three days in a row. And the forecast is not exactly great although at the moment the sun is shining. So here we go.
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