Zippy Nehra hands India Asia Cup after 15 years

After electing to bat on the same wicket as Tuesday, India battled to reach 268 but excellent swing and seam bowling from Ashish Nehra handed India an 81-run win

Having batted first on Tuesday, the Indian openers were cautious and got off to a slow start and Gambhir, who was lucky to be dropped twice, ran out of luck for 15. Karthik and Kohli added 62 for the second wicket, as India scored 53/1 in the Quick Start Overs, followed by 29/0 in the Bowling Powerplay. The middle order battled against the tough conditions and the team was looking good for a big score but Dhoni’s wicket in the 33rd over raised some doubts over a collapse again. However, Raina and Rohit Sharma erased such doubts with a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket and the latter batted till the 48th over to ensure that India batted out their 50 overs and reached a competitive 268/6. Sri Lanka bowled well in the Extreme Performance Overs, conceding just 55/2 which included 34/1 in the Batting Powerplay. Dinesh Karthik top-scored with 66 in 84 balls, with 9 fours, ending with a Batting Momentum of 78 while part-timer Thilina Kandamby was the surprise package, picking up 2/37 in 10 overs, finishing with a Bowling Efficiency of 114.

  Sri Lanka were very confident at the break to chase down 269 but the batsmen played far too many shots against the swinging ball as Ashish Nehra ripped through the top order as the hosts scored 42/2 in the Quick Start Overs and were rocked further in the Bowling Powerplay, scoring just 8/2 in 5 overs. The top-order was decimated as Sri Lanka were 51/5 in the 16th over. Thilina Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedara steadied the ship with a 53-run stand for the sixth wicket but Kandamby’s run-out of a no ball scripted the end as the hosts were dismissed for 187, handing India a comprehensive 81-run win. Kapugedara tried to delay the inevitable with an unbeaten 55 from 88 balls, with 4 fours and a six, ending with a Batting Momentum of 56 while Ashish Nehra finished with figures of 4/40 in 9 overs, gaining a Bowling Efficiency of 270.

India finished with a Castrol Indes of 180 compared to Sri Lanka’s 118 and were always ahead of Sri Lanka at every stage with the only time the Lankans fared better was during the Bowling Powerplay. DINESH KARTHIK was named the MAN-OF-THE-MATCH for his 66 in 84 balls ending with an overall Castrol Index of 129. BOOM BOOM SHAHID AFRIDI was awarded the MAN-OF-THE-SERIES for scoring 265 runs at an average of 88.33 and picking up 3 wickets, finishing with an Overall Castrol Series Index of 223. The two teams now gear up for a 3-match Test series starting from the 18th of July, 2010 at Galle at 0430 GMT.