Asia Cup Final 2023: IND vs SL Match Preview, Head-to-Head, Pitch Report, Key Players, Playing XI
We have our finalists India and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023. A magnificent performance from Sri Lanka in the knockout game against Pakistan took them back-to-back in the final of the Asia Cup. If you are a cricket enthusiast, you will learn about the match insights like pitch report, key players, head-to-head records, match previews, etc. in this post. You can take help from our cricket betting tips to place your bets and win guaranteed big cash rewards and offers. Join now to enjoy your favourite game.
Asia Cup Final 2023: IND vs SL Match Details
The final of the Asia Cup 2023 will take place at the same venue R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the match will begin at 3 PM IST.
Pitch Report
The surface is quite suitable for batting and there will be some seam movement for the pacers. Spinners will enjoy bowling, especially in the second innings. The batsmen have to spend some time and once they are set, they can go on to make big scores.
Weather Report
The weather is cloudy and there will be some interruption from rain but that will persist not too much. Therefore, there should be a full 50-over match.
Venue Stats
Asia Cup Final 2023: IND vs SL Match Preview
Team India
They were simply brilliant and on the point in every department of the matches they played so far. The batting is on song and bowling is a masterclass so far. It is evident from the current performances that the team is shaping up well for the upcoming mega event ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
The last match against Bangladesh was an experiment for the newcomers to the team. Tilak Varma made his ODI debut while Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel were included in the playing XI. India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Bangladesh had a poor start, courtesy of Shami and Shardul.
They were reeling at 59 for 4 and then the skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy made a wonderful partnership of 100 runs. Shakib made a fine 80 runs while Hridoy scored a valuable half-century before being dismissed. Shami took 2 while Shardul took 3 wickets and Bangladesh went on to score 265 for 8. A good cameo from Nasum Ahmed supported the total.
Since Indian management did some experiments, everything didn’t go well. India was off to a poor start too. Rohit Sharma went for a duck while Tilak couldn’t make the most of his opportunity. India lost 4 wickets under 100 runs score. SKY played an irresponsible shot and his poor outing in the ODIs continues to surprise all. Axar Patel was holding his nerves and decided to take the match deep before he got dismissed on 42 after playing an ordinary shot. Mustafizur Rehman took 3 while Tanzim Hasan and Mahedi Hasan took 2 wickets each and India was short of 6 runs.
Team Sri Lanka
They have qualified consecutively in the Asia Cup finals. Last year, they played the final against Pakistan and clinched victory. This year, they have once again played very well despite their main players getting injured. It seems their bowling would be a concern but they overcame it. In the virtual knockout game against Pakistan, the team would be pretty happy with their complete performance after an embarrassing loss to India in the Super 4 stage.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. Fakhar Zaman failed once again and was removed by Pramod Madushan. Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique had a steady partnership but the former one got stumped on Dunith Wellalage’s outstanding delivery. Shafique made his maiden ODI fifty but immediately got dismissed by Matheesha Pathirana. The middle order crumbled under pressure and Sri Lanka kept taking wickets. Pakistan was in trouble at 122 for 5 and then Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed took the charge to score runs. They hit the ball and put pressure on Sri Lanka. In the rain-hit game, Pakistan managed to reach 252 for 7. Pathirana took 3 and Madushan picked 2 wickets.
In response, Sri Lanka had a fine start and Kusal Perera set the tone for the chase but unfortunately, he got run out. Kusal Mendis came in and both he and Pathum Nissanka made above fifty run stand before the latter was dismissed by Shadab Khan. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Kusal Mendis kept the run rate under control and frustrated the Pakistani bowlers. Suddenly, Iftikhar removed Sadeera and Pakistan got a chance to come back into the game.
The skipper Dasun Shanaka once again failed to finish for Sri Lanka and got out cheaply. Charith Asalanka was fighting from one end and Pakistan took control of the game. Dhanajaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage were dismissed by Shaheen Afridi on consecutive deliveries. The last over of Zaman Khan was a thriller. Sri Lanka needed 6 runs off 2 balls and then they got a boundary off Charith Asalanka’s bat and then he took a couple to finish the game. He was not out on 49 and Sri Lanka made it into the final.
Head-to-Head Records
India is ahead of Sri Lanka when they faced each other in the ODIs.
Key Players to Watch
We will take the stats from the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.
Team India
| Player | Matches | Runs | Batting Average | Wickets | BowlingAverage |
| R Sharma | 5 | 194 | 48.5 | ||
| S Gill | 5 | 275 | 68.7 | ||
| K Yadav | 4 | 9 | 11.4 |
Team Sri Lanka
| Player | Matches | Runs | Batting Average | Wickets | BowlingAverage |
| S Samarawickrama | 5 | 215 | 43 | ||
| K Mendis | 5 | 253 | 50.6 | ||
| D Wellalage | 5 | 10 | 17.2 | ||
| M Pathirana | 5 | 11 | 22.6 |
Squads
Team India
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma
Team Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Dushan Hemantha
Asia Cup Final 2023: IND vs SL Match Predictions
Team India
- Shubman Gill smashed a fantastic century in the last match against Bangladesh. He will carry the confidence and form in this match.
- Rohit Sharma despite being dismissed on a duck in the last match, he would surely get into the rhythm in this match.
- Virat Kohli didn’t play the last match but he will be the key player in the final.
- Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah should be among the wicket-takers.
- We might see a good performance from Hardik Pandya as well.
Team Sri Lanka
- Kusal Mendis is the backbone of the team. He has already smashed 3 fifties and his wicket would be a key for India.
- Sadeera Samarawickrama is doing well in the middle order and his contribution would allow Sri Lanka to finish with a good total.
- Charith Asalanka is a good player of spin and therefore he can survive through the middle phases and strike the ball to keep the momentum.
- Matheesha Pathiran might get some wickets if Sri Lanka bats bowls first.
- Dunith Wellalage’s spell should be important for Sri Lanka as he got his 5-fer in the last game between the two sides.
Predicted Playing XI
Team India
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
Team Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana
Fantasy Playing XI
Based on the stats above, this could be the winning fantasy team.
Conclusion
Both teams deserved to play final as they pulled out some spectacular performances. Their major victories came against Pakistan and were right on the money. India has won 7 Asia Cup titles while Sri Lanka has clinched it 6 times. Can they level and make it 7 times or will India thrash Sri Lanka as they did earlier in the tournament? We will see the results soon. Till now, join our cricket betting website and place your bets to enjoy big cash rewards.
