Five Players to watch out for in India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup final

After 19 days and 12 exciting matches, India will face Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final. India lost their last match by six runs in the sixth Super 4 match against Bangladesh, on 15th September at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

The Men In Blue booked the final spot in the tournament after defeating both Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Four stage. The Lankan Lions in the virtual semi-final match edged off Pakistan by a two-wicket win. The teams have met seven times in the finals of the Asia Cup with India winning 4 times and Sri Lanka thrice. Some of the players for both teams have been sensational in the Asia Cup 2023.

Here are the top five players to watch out for during the India vs Sri Lanka match:

5. Dunith Wellalage

Dunith Wellalage (Source- Twitter)

The 20-year-old youngster has been sensational after he got his first call in the Asia Cup against India. He showcased his cricketing prowess with a brilliant five-wicket haul in the Asia Cup Super 4 match in Colombo. Wellalage's wickets tally included heavyweights like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and KL Rahul. In the run chase also he contributed when his team was struggling at 99/6, he remained unbeaten for 42 runs off 46 balls, almost taking Sri Lanka over the line.

In the second match, against Pakistan, he dismissed the all-important wicket of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam with a jaffer delivery. He could not contribute in the second match, but he will definitely be the player to be watched out for in the final of the Asia Cup.

4. Jasprit Bumrah 

Jasprit Bumrah (Source- Twitter)

Jasprit Bumrah has been in good form after coming back from the injury. He was awarded the player of the series in the Ireland Tour. In the Asia Cup, Bumrah did not get to bowl in the first match against Pakistan as the match was washed out due to rain. He was on a paternity break during the Nepal match.

In the Super 4 matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the fans got to see the old pacer back in his rhythm and form. He gave early breakthroughs with the ball at the start of the innings. He was given rest in the last match of the Asia Cup and now on Sunday, he will be back in action against Sri Lanka.

3. Kusal Mendis

Kusal Mendis (Source- Twitter)

Kusal Mendis has been the top run-getter for Sri Lanka in this edition of the continental championship. The top-order batter only failed to impress in the match against India, where he scored only 15 runs off 16 balls. Mendis has been on top of his game and roared back with a match-winning 87-ball 91 in a high-pressure match against Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium. He has scored 253 runs with an average of 50.60 in the Asia Cup.

2. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma (Source- Twitter)

The team India skipper has been in sensational form in the Asia Cup. He has been in superb form since the last three innings that he played against Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. He also went past 10,000 ODI runs. Although he failed in the last match in the Asia Cup against Bangladesh. He has scored 194 runs and will be looking to add to his tally in the final and lift the continental trophy for the 8th time.

1. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli (Source- Twitter)

Virat Kohli has been phenomenal in these two years now. And he showed it once again against Pakistan with his 47th ODI hundred. He smashed an unbeaten 122 and won the Man of the Match award. Kohli unlocked another milestone in the Indo-PAK match where he became the fastest batter to score 13000 ODI runs. In the Sri Lanka game, he could not get going and was out for just three runs. King Kohli will not repeat the same mistake in the final and will get his 2023 form going.