Bangladesh are officially out of the running for a place in the grand finale of the Asia Cup 2023 after India beat co-hosts Sri Lanka by 41 runs in their Super Four match in Colombo Tuesday.
Record seven-time champions India in the process advanced to Sunday’s final at the same venue while the other finalist will be determined Thursday when the Lankans face fellow co-hosts Pakistan in the penultimate game of the Super Four round in the Sri Lankan capital.
The last encounter of the Super Four phase between the Indians and the Tigers, scheduled for Friday in Colombo, has now turned inconsequential.
With Tuesday’s win, India now have four points from two matches, while Sri Lanka and Pakistan both have two points having played two games each.
Bangladesh are winless in two matches.
Chasing 214 for victory, the Lankans were all out for 172 in 41.3 overs with Dunith Wellalage top-scoring with an unbeaten 46-ball 42.
Dhananjaya de Silva chipped in with a 66-ball 41.
Kuldeep Yadav led the way for the visiting side with 4/43 while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja bagged two wickets apiece.
Earlier, Wellalage and Charith Asalanka bagged nine wickets between them as Sri Lanka bowled India out for 213.
India skipper Rohit Sharma surpassed 10,000 One Day International runs and scored 53 to hand his team a brisk start but Wellalage hit back with his maiden five-wicket haul.
The 20-year old returned figure of 5/40 including the key wickets of Rohit and Virat Kohli with strong support from off-spinner Asalanka, who claimed four victims for 18 runs.
India headed into their third successive day of cricket after hammering arch-rivals Pakistan by 228 runs on Monday's reserve day due to rain.
Rohit and Shubman Gill started cautiously after electing to bat but got going soon after with a few boundaries.
Rohit entered an elite list of players with over 10,000 ODI runs after smashing a straight six off Kasun Rajitha to get the Indian flags waving in the stands with his second successive fifty.
Wellalage struck with his first ball of the match when he bowled Gill for 19 and there was no looking back for the young spinner.
He made the home fans erupt with the wicket of Kohli who fell for three a day after an unbeaten 122 against Pakistan at the same venue.
Rohit was also bowled by Wellalage who snared his third in three overs.
Ishan Kishan, who made 33, and previous-match centurion Lokesh Rahul attempted to rebuild the innings with a stand of 63.
Wellalage ended that partnership when he got Rahul caught and bowled for 39 and later sent back Hardik Pandya for his fifth.
Asalanka kept chipping away from the other end and was on a hat-trick with India on 186/9, but Axar Patel stuck around to take the total past 200 after a nearly 45-minute rain break.
Maheesh Theekshana dismissed Patel for 26 to end India's innings in 49.1 overs.
India made one change with left-arm spinner Axar coming in for Shardul Thakur in the 50-over tournament, which is a prelude to the World Cup starting next month.
Batsman Shreyas Iyer was yet to fully recover from the back spasm which saw him miss the Pakistan match, India's cricket board said.
Sri Lanka, led by Dasun Shanaka, named an unchanged team from their previous win over Bangladesh in their first match of the Super Four.
10TH MATCH
India 213 in 49.1 overs (Rohit 53, Wellalage 5/40) beat Sri Lanka 172 in 41.3 overs (Wellalage 42*, Kuldeep 4/43) by 41 runs