The Asia Cup 2023 Final: India Prepares to Face Sri Lanka

Introduction

The line-up has been decided, with India taking on Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2023. The Indian team has already beaten the islanders once, in the Super 4 stage of the tournament, but would need to avoid making the same mistakes against the home team.

Opinion of Sri Lanka Skipper Dasun Shanaka

• Sri Lanka skipper admits that Rohit Sharma’s men have a “better chance” of winning the Cricket World Cup.
• “There is a good chance for all the teams. India got a better chance because they know the conditions well, the calibre of players is also good,” said Shanaka.

The Strengths of Sri Lanka Team

The SL skipper said that his team has got the stars who can win a match single-handedly. “We have a good batting line-up. There are also quality spinners in our side,” he added.

Biggest Challenges in India During the World Cup

Talking about the biggest challenge in India during the World Cup, Shanaka said that, “I think pitches will be a challenge. Bowling will be a challenge. The margin of error is very low. We need to execute really well.”

Experience of IPL Players

Talking about whether the IPL experience of certain players like Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheese Pathirana etc., will serve as an advantage, Shanaka agreed, while also noting that not many players from Lanka play in the IPL. “I think we have players of that calibre who can play IPL. I am looking forward to it in the coming years,” he added.

The Process to Reach the Final

Talking about whether India and Sri Lanka will play in a World Cup final as they did in 2011, Shanaka said, “It is not about the final. It is about the process to which we need to stick even here in the Asia Cup. We came without our key players but still made it to the final. If we stick to the process, we have a great chance to make the final.”

Final Line-up

India:

• Rohit Sharma (c)
• Virat Kohli
• Shreyas Iyer
• KL Rahul
• Shubman Gill
• Suryakumar Yadav
• Tilak Varma
• Ishan Kishan
• Hardik Pandya (vc)
• Ravindra Jadeja
• Axar Patel
• Shardul Thakur
• Jasprit Bumraj
• Mohammed Shami
• Mohammed Siraj
• Kuldeep Yadav
• Prasidh Krishna
• Sanju Samson (travelling reserve)

Sri Lanka:

• Dasun Shanaka (c)
• Pathum Nissanaka
• Dimuth Karunaratne
• Kusal Janith Perera
• Kusal Mendis (vc)
• Charith Asalanka
• Dhananjaya de Silva
• Sadeera Samarawickrama
• Maheesh Theekshana
• Dunith Wellalage
• Matheesha Pathirana
• Kasun Rajitha
• Dushan Hemantha
• Binura Fernando
• Pramod Madushan

With ANI inputs