Watch: Jasprit Bumrah got India off to the perfect start in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, getting Kusal Perera caught behind off the third ball of the game with a beautiful outswinger to the left-hander.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first, but we didn’t know what was going to happen. India returned to the regular squad after resting some players for the match against Bangladesh. This meant that the rookie pair of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj returned to shake up Sri Lanka’s batting order in an unprecedented way.
Bumrah first set the tone for the innings. On his first pitch of the game, he was tripled and singled by right-hander Pathum Nissanka’s outside swing. This led to a strike from left-hander Kusal Perera. Bumrah bowled another outswinger, this time against a left-hander.
The first ball hit Perera’s bat, but the second was close enough to Perera’s stumps that it caught the outside of the ball and flew towards the wicketkeeper. The wicketkeeper jumped to Perera’s left and caught the ball, slipping first to give the ball to India. First breakthrough.
Siraj then broke several records in his next over, picking up four wickets in four overs of the innings and taking five fours in just 16 balls in the fastest simultaneous time in ODI history.
After nine overs, Sri Lanka’s score was 30-6.
Watch Jasprit Bumrah set the tone for India by picking a wicket on the third ball of the 2023 Asia Cup final:
JASPRIT BUMRAH YOU BEAUTY! 😍😍@Jaspritbumrah93 makes early inroads, snapping up a key wicket in the first over!
What a way to begin a Final! 🤯Schalten League #AsiaCupOnStar, JETZT LIVE auf Star Sports Network#INDvSL #Cricket pic.twitter.com/71i48TL6y1
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) 17. September 2023
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
