Asia Cup: Team India defeats Sri Lanka in Super Over, Pathum Nissanka’s century goes in vain

Dubai. India and Sri Lanka clashed in Match 18 of the Asia Cup 2025 on Friday, September 26th. In this match, held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, the Indian team won the Super Over against Sri Lanka. India had set Sri Lanka a target of 203 runs to win. In response, Sri Lanka scored 202 runs for five wickets in 20 overs, and the match went into the Super Over.

Sri Lanka scored 2 runs in the Super Over, meaning India needed 3 runs to win. Kusal Perera was dismissed on the first ball of that over by Arshdeep Singh. Kamindu Mendis took a single off the next ball. Dasun Shanaka failed to score a run on the next ball. Arshdeep then bowled a wide. No runs were scored on the fourth legal ball of the over. Dasun Shanaka was caught out on the fifth ball. India then achieved the target of 3 runs on the very first ball. Suryakumar Yadav scored three runs off the very first ball of Wanindu Hasaranga in the Super Over. The Indian team had already qualified for the final, where they will face Pakistan on Sunday, September 28th. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s dream of playing in the title match was shattered.

Sri Lanka’s innings:
Chasing the target, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start, losing Kusal Mendis cheaply. From there, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera settled in at the crease. They shared a 127-run partnership for the second wicket. Kusal Perera scored 58 runs off 32 balls, including 8 fours and a six. Varun Chakravarthy broke the partnership by dismissing Kusal Perera. India then took the wickets of Charith Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis. But Nissanka made the match exciting by scoring a century.

Pathum Nissanka scored 107 runs off 58 balls with the help of 7 fours and 6 sixes. Sri Lanka needed 12 runs to win in the last over. Nissanka was dismissed on the first ball of Harshit Rana’s over. Janith Liyanage took 2 runs off the next ball, while he took a bye on the third ball. Dasun Shanaka took two runs off the fourth ball and hit a four on the fifth ball. Sri Lanka needed 3 runs off the last ball, but Shanaka could only manage two, forcing the match into a Super Over.

Abhishek Sharma’s stormy innings, Tilak and Samson also shined
After losing the toss and batting first, the Indian team scored 202 runs for five wickets. The Indian team had a poor start, losing the wicket of Shubman Gill cheaply. However, Shubman’s dismissal did not affect Abhishek Sharma. Abhishek Sharma reached his fifty off 22 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes. This was Abhishek Sharma’s third consecutive fifty-plus score in the ongoing Asia Cup. In total, Abhishek scored 61 runs off 31 balls, hitting eight fours and two sixes. Captain Suryakumar Yadav disappointed, scoring just 12 runs. Abhishek and Suryakumar Yadav shared a 59-run partnership for the second wicket.

After Abhishek Sharma’s dismissal, Tilak Verma took over with Sanju Samson. The two shared a 66-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Sanju Samson scored 39 runs off 23 balls, hitting three sixes and a four. Following Sanju’s dismissal, India lost Hardik Pandya cheaply. From there, Tilak Verma and Axar Patel added an unbeaten 40-run partnership to take India to a big total. Tilak Verma scored an unbeaten 49 off 34 balls, hitting four fours and a six. While Akshar Patel contributed 21 runs not out.

The Indian team made two changes to its playing XI for this match. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Shivam Dube were rested. Left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh and fast bowler Harshit Rana replaced them. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, included Janith Liyanage in the playing XI in place of Chamika Karunaratne.

The Indian team has an impressive record against Sri Lanka in T20 Internationals. The two teams have played 32 matches in the shortest format of cricket so far. During this period, Team India won 23 matches, while the Sri Lankan team won only nine.