Sunil Gavaskar : The 2023 Asia Cup was a successful campaign for the Indian cricket team as they clinched their record-extending eighth title, as in the case of KL Rahul. The goalkeeper’s shot did not start the tournament well. He returned to international cricket after a long lay-off due to a thigh injury that led to him going under the knife, but heartburn also forced him to miss the first two matches of the Asia Cup. Rahul, on the other hand, bounced back brilliantly with 111 in the Super 4 match against Pakistan.
The right-handed batsman finished the tournament with 169 runs in three innings at an average of 84.50. Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar hailed his comeback to impress Rahul’s form.
“Very, very good to see him in good form. We all knew what his quality was. He has proved it for so long. The only question mark would be his fitness and in this century against Pakistan he showed his ability. fitness. because it didn’t mean not only to play a long shift, but also to run between the goals. And who are you running with? Probably the fastest runner of the game between 22 yards was Virat Kohli. He did it so well. And then came and mostly held the curtains. It 100% proves his fitness,” Gavaskar told India Today after India beat Sri Lanka by ten runs in the 2023 Asia Cup final. Talking about the top clash, Mohammed Siraj bowled a stunning six-wicket haul to help India finally beat Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
Siraj’s 6 for 21 off 7 helped the Rohit Sharma-led side post 50 runs from Sri Lanka after skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat.
Siraj picked up his first five wickets in 16 balls, which is also the fastest in the history of ODI cricket. He also became only the fourth Indian bowler to take 6 wickets in an ODI innings. Anil Kumble, Jasprit Bumrah and Stuart Binny are the other three Indian bowlers to do so. Jasprit Bumrah got the first strike before Siraj took over and didn’t let the opposition settle down.
In a meagre chase, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan comfortably took India home in 6.1 overs.
