Three-in-a-row for Men in Blue

Mirpur : India on Tuesday stormed into the final of the Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament with another comfortable five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, riding on Virat Kohli's unbeaten half-century. It was their third successive victory, clinching a berth for the summit clash as they now stand on the cusp of their sixth continental championship trophy.

After the bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 138 for nine, the 'Men In Blue' overcame the early hiccups as they reached the target in 19.2 overs. It might look close from the scoreboard but India always had control of the match. The ever-consistent Virat Kohli once again made a significant contribution with a 56 not out off 47 balls with seven fours.

But the innings of the match was certainly played by Yuvraj Singh, who showed glimpses of his vintage self during a cameo of 35 from only 18 balls that had three sixes and two boundaries. Yuvraj once again proved the old adage that class is permanent as he effortlessly shifted gears from the last match, where he just wanted to build a partnership with Kohli.

He came in at 70 for 3 with the team still needing another 69 runs. By the time, he was gone trying to hook Thisara Perera, he added 51 runs in 5.4 overs with Kohli and more so ended whatever little chances that Sri Lanka harboured in the match. He started with a slashed four off Dasun Shanaka, and then hit two sixes off Rangana Herat over long and deep mid-wicket.

Another six over cover point and a four effectively closed out the match. While Hardik Pandya (2) was fooled by an arm ball from Herath, a Mahendra Singh Dhoni straight six and a couple of boundaries from Kohli finished the proceedings. Earlier, Indian bowlers once again put up an impressive performance, restricting Sri Lanka to a modest 138 for nine in 20 overs.

Opting to bowl, young guns Pandya (2/27 in 4 overs) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/26) continued their stellar show as the island nation never really got going during their innings. Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/26 in 4 overs) showed brilliant control during the back-10 while veteran Ashish Nehra (1/23) once again showed why he is a class apart.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal c Dhoni b Nehra 4, Tillakaratne Dilshan c Ashwin b Pandya 18, Shehan Jayasuriya c Dhoni b Bumrah 3, Chamara Kapugedera c Pandya b Bumrah 30, Angelo Mathews b Pandya 18, Milinda Siriwardana c Raina b Ashwin 22, Dasun Shanaka run out 1, Thisara Perera st Dhoni b Ashwin 17, Nuwan Kulasekara not out 13, Dushmantha Chameera not out 2; Extras: (lb-5, w-4, nb-1) 10; Total: (for 8 wickets in 20 overs) 138; Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-15, 3-31, 4-57, 5-100, 6-104, 7-105, 8-125; Bowling: Ashish Nehra 4-0-23-1, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-27-2, Hardik Pandya 4-0-26-2, Yuvraj Singh 1-0-3-0, Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-19-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-26-2, Suresh Raina 1-0-9-0; India: Shikhar Dhawan c Chandimal b Kulasekara 1, Rohit Sharma c Kapugedera b Kulasekara 15, Virat Kohli not out 56, Suresh Raina c Kulasekara b Shanaka 25, Yuvraj c Kulasekara b Perera 35, H Pandya b Herath 2, MS Dhoni not out 7; Extras: (w-1) 1; Total: (for 5 wickets in 19.2 overs) 142; Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-16, 3-70, 4-121, 5-125; Bowling: Angelo Mathews 3-0-16-0, Nuwan Kulasekara 3-0-21-2, Thisara Perera 4-0-32-1, Dushmantha Chameera 4-0-27-0, Rangana Herath 3.2-0-26-1, Dasun Shanaka 1-0-7-1, Milinda Siriwardana 1-0-13-0.