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ODI world cup 2023 Cricket

'Unstoppable. Dominant. Champions' - Fans go berserk as India secures 2023 World Cup semifinal berth with dominant win over Sri Lanka

An all-round batting effort and lethal pace attack of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah gave a massive win for India.

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Mathew K
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India (Source: Twitter)

India (Source: Twitter)

Memories of the 2011 World Cup final flashed back when India and Sri Lanka met again in the premier 50-over tournament at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. However, it was a repeat of the 2023 Asia Cup final where India dominated by 10 wickets in Colombo a few months ago. A formidable batting performance followed by a stunning bowling attack by Team India proved that the current Sri Lankan team is a mere shadow of their 2011 squad. 

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India climbed to the top of the points table with a massive 302-run win on Thursday, November 2. With seven wins from seven games, the Men in Blue are the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far and they have secured a semi-final berth. On the other hand, Sri Lanka are on the brink of elimination after losing their fifth match. They are currently ranked eighth. 

Lankan captain Kusal Mendis won the toss and sent India to bat first. Rohit Sharma started the innings with a boundary but the very next ball Dilshan Madushanka removed the Indian captain's off-stump. However, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli played brilliantly and added 188 runs for the second wicket. Gill started cautiously but smashed his second half-century of the tournament. Kohli, on the other hand, looked flawless and registered his fifth fifty-plus score of this World Cup. 

Both looked well-placed to hit their respective centuries, but Madushanka returned to the attack and quickly chased down the dangerous pair. Gill was dismissed for 92 (92), while Kohli missed a great opportunity to equal Sachin Tendulkar's record for most ODI centuries by just 12 runs. India then lost a couple of more wickets, but Shreyas Iyer played a survival innings to help set India a huge target of 358.

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Indian pacers did not let the Lankan batters breathe

Iyer smashed a quick-fire 82 off just 56 balls, including 3 fours and 6 sixes. He was well supported by Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 24) to accelerate Indian innings in the final 10 overs. In reply, the Indian pacers did not let the Lankan batters breathe. Jasprit Bumrah drew first blood by removing opener Pathum Nissanka on the very first delivery. Mohammad Siraj took two wickets in the second over and made the scoreboard read like in football matches.

Siraj was reminded of the Asia Cup final as he claimed one more wicket in his second over. With the scoreboard reading 14-4 after 9 overs, Rohit brought Mohammed Shami into the attack and the veteran took two wickets in back-to-back deliveries. Shami continued his lethal attack and went on to pick up his second fifer in the tournament. All-rounder Jadeja wrapped up the innings in the 20th over with the wicket of Madushanka.

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Here's how fans reacted: 

India featured Sri Lanka ODI World Cup 2023