Summary: India were asked to bat first, Rohit Sharma starred but rest of the batting unit struggled. India scored 173/8, Sri Lanka chased it brilliantly to score 174/4 in 19.5 overs.

India captain Rohit Sharma also gives special credit to Arshdeep Singh for the way he bowled at the end.

Rohit Sharma: We just ended up on the wrong side. These defeats will be learning experiences. Come the World Cup, I want to be ready with answers for various combinations. (Specifically regarding a fourth pacer.)

Before the start of the tournament, nobody would have thought that India would find themselves staring at mathematical possibilities and depending on results of other matches to see them through. What’s gone wrong, the plans or the execution? It all needs a big re-think ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.

Back to back defeats for India. Last over thrillers, entertaining and just full of drama but that is not what the defending champions were touted to do in this tournament. They look far from threatening and while that can be attributed to the unthreatening, Bumrah-less pace-attack, there also seems something amiss in the batting. Hosts Sri Lanka meanwhile sit pretty on top of the table, with an inspiring performance by their bowlers and some brilliant batting.

SL 174/4 (20 overs): Sri Lanka win by 6 WICKETS! Not to be for India. That was brilliant execution from Arshdeep. But the last ball, with 1 need off 1 and Sri Lanka sneaked in 2 byes. First Pant had the chance to get to the stumps and then Arshdeep and they both missed.

Sri Lanka need 2 off 2. Deep breaths...

Sri Lanka need 7 off 6. Arshdeep to bowl the final over. Ah, the pressure.

Vinayakk: India fans, please pray for Jasprit Bumrah’s good health if you believe in such things. Because otherwise, this Indian bowling unit is some distance off being a four-letter word starting with s.

SL 167/4 (19 overs): Nah, Bhuvneshwar had to do better here. The most experienced bowler of the lot and 14 runs conceded here when the equation demanded 21 off 12 is not good enough. Shanaka sneaks in two boundaries in that over.

Sri Lanka need 21 off 12.

SL 153/4 (18 overs): One skiddy delivery bowled at 142kph and that seems like the only one that seems like it left the batter stunned. Another great over for Sri Lanka, 12 runs off it.

Equation: Sri Lanka need 33 off 18.

SL 141/4 (17 overs): Yorkers on yorkers from Arshdeep here and a brilliant one to end the over. The solitary boundary in the one that offers width and a bit of pace. 9 runs off the over.

SL 132/4 (16 overs): A six over long-on and that’s just Rajapaksa continuing to keep the momentum in their favour. A chance later but he just survives a mishit and it falls over Kohli who is fielding at point.

Into the last five overs. FUN!

SL 120/4 (15 overs): Both the set batters are gone and that’s good for India but Sri Lanka have managed to get 10 runs off that over. Rajapaksa tonks one over the cow corner and that just releases the pressure.

WICKET! 14.1: Kusal Mendis 57(37) lbw Yuzvendra Chahal, Sri Lanka 110/4 What a spell Yuzvendra Chahal is bowling here. Traps Mendis plumb who also ends up wasting the review. India will believe, surely.

SL 110/3 (14 overs): The danger man Mendis is still here but that is a sigh of relief for India. Ashwin with a wicket and just 5 runs.

WICKET! 13.5: Danushka Gunathilaka 1(7) ct K L Rahul b Ravichandran Ashwin, Sri Lanka 110/3 Brilliant from Ashwin. Loopy, enticing and Gunathilaka goes after it only to find Rahul at the long-off. Is that the momentum India need?! Spin it to win it.

SL 105/2 (13 overs): Back to pace after the pressure Chahal has built, seven runs off the over.

HALF CENTURY FOR KUSAL MENDIS: Off just 33 balls. Had his luck earlier in the tournament but nothing streaky about this innings tonight. Lovely shot to get there, guiding a short ball over the keeper.

Interesting. Bhuvi comes on for India. Maybe Rohit hoping for a wicket from his pacer. No Ashwin despite a new LHB in the middle in Gunathilaka.

SL 98/2 (12 overs): How things can change quickly in cricket. Two wickets and just one run in that Chahal over. India right back in this. SL do bat deep, but this will give India belief.

WICKET! 11.4: Charith Asalanka 0(3) ct Suryakumar Yadav b Yuzvendra Chahal Two wickets in one over for Chahal! Asalanka is gone for a duck after a mistimed sweep goes high but not long and India are pumped. A dive by Ashwin previous delivery, prevented a single. Crucial. Sri Lanka 97/2

WICKET! 11.1: Pathum Nissanka 52(37) ct Rohit Sharma b Yuzvendra Chahal India finally get the breakthrough. Chahal strikes as Nissanka is caught by Rohit. The end of a fine knock by the Sri Lanka opener. Played a reverse sweep and was caught at point, as commentators do they wonder if it was the right shot because the batter got out. Sri Lanka 97/1

SL 97/0 (11 overs): Hardik to restart proceedings and there is another boundary in that over, streaky as it was for Mendis behind the wicket. Rather easy 8-run over.

Half century for Nissanka: Indeed, in the 10th over, a milestone for the SL opener. He is batting on 50 off 34 balls.

SL 89/0 (10 overs): Ashwin does this well... slowing down runs in the middle overs. But need some wicket-taking edge from the other end, not sure where that is coming for India here. Time for a break, and this is a match that is fast slipping away for India.

SL 85/0 (9 overs): Six... another super shot against spin, this by Nissanka over square leg off Chahal. Brilliant T20 batting. Delightful to watch if you are not an Indian fan, of course. Couple of run-out shouts but needed direct hits.

Penny for Rahul Dravid’s thoughts.

SL 74/0 (8 overs): Shot! Possibly of the night. Mendis lofts one over extra cover off Ashwin, one that actually turn in a bit too. Amazing shot against the direction of spin, all timing. Ashwin did well to come back from that but the rate is being met rather easily by SL battes.

Ashwin time.

SL 63/0 (7 overs): Classic tidy 7th over. Hardik sneaks a tidy one with six singles. But India need wickets... and in a hurry.

SL 57/0 (6 overs): Chahal into action to finish the powerplay and a brilliant six by Mendis over wide long off. There was a four for Nissanka too. India look lost. That is a brilliant powerplay for Sri Lanka and there has been barely any help after the first couple of overs for the Indian bowlers.

Aditya: Arshdeep Singh gets some lovely swing in his first over from one end but is replaced by Hardik Pandya, who is hit for six. Arshdeep then comes from the other end, doesn’t get any swing, and is hit for two fours and a six. Strange, strange moves.

SL 45/0 (5 overs) : Arshdeep varying his lengths from full to short but the gates are open and the runs are flowing. Mendis and Nissanka have taken 18 runs off that over.

SL 31/0 (4 overs) : The highlight of the over from Pandya has to be the straight six from Nissanka. India unable to build the pressure here now. Easy flowing runs here from Sri Lanka.

SL 17/0 (3 overs) : Swing on offer for Bhuvneshwar but two instances and the ball falls just short. Eight runs off it.

SL 9/0 (2 overs) : A lot of unnecessary talk surrounding Arshdeep since that match against Pakistan but he is starting fresh here. A great over to start with but just about messes it up in the last delivery as Nissanka sneaks in a four.

SL 1/0 (1 over) : Great start from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Appeals for the inswinger that hit the pads in the second delivery but backs out. Just one run off it.

Sri Lankan openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka are in the middle and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will open the bowling for India.

End of India innings: Barring the partnership between Rohit and Suryakumar and a few hits from Pant and Ashwin in the end, there was no real spark from India in the innings. A brilliant bowling performance saw Sri Lanka pick wickets in regular intervals but it looks like the score might just be par if India’s spin attack can come through here.

IND 173/8 (19 overs) : Ashwin slogs one into the crowd and is dropped in the final delivery. Great effort from Sri Lanka and India finish with 173. Karunaratne finishes with 2/27.

WICKET! 19.3: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 0(2) b Chamika Karunaratne, India 164/8 A slower one that crashes right into the middle and leg stump. Brilliant stuff at the death from Sri Lanka here. Absolutely no momentum given to India in the end, who will fall well short of what they could have posted here.

IND 161/7 (19 overs) : Again, a brilliant over Madushanka and a great bowling performance from him today as he finishes with 3/24. A flurry of wickets towards the end and that’s just the penultimate over Sri Lanka needed.

WICKET! 18.3: Rishabh Pant 17(13) ct Pathum Nissanka b Dilshan Madushanka, India 158/7 And another one bites the dust. Madushanka has done so well here to contain the damage after the Shanaka over.

WICKET! 18.1: Deepak Hooda 3(4) b Dilshan Madushanka, India 157/6 Full and aimed straight at the stumps but Hooda misses.

Sri Lanka are two overs behind and so the slow over penalty comes in. Fielding changes and India will hope to capitalise on that.

IND 157/5 (18 overs) : Shanaka almost gets his third and Deepak Hooda would have had to walk as well but it’s a wicket off a no-ball. A great start to the over but the three wides and no ball mean 17 runs come off it.

WICKET! 17.3: Hardik Pandya 17(13) ct Pathum Nissanka b Dasun Shanaka, India 149/5 Some great timing on the six early in the over and he tries to whip another away but it finds Nissanka in the deep.

IND 140/4 (17 overs) : Another tight over from Sri Lanka here. Just five runs off the over bowled by Hasaranga. Recovers well after the 18-run onslaught in the previous one he bowled. But that should probably be the last quiet over of this innings.

IND 135/4 (16 overs) : Pant with a four off the deep square leg, just 8 runs off that over. Theekshana ends his quota with 1/29.

IND 127/4 (15 overs) : Rishabh Pant releases the pressure almost immediately. Two boundaries in that over. India now in the final five overs... time for Pandya and Pant to fully unleash themselves.

WICKET! 14.2: Suryakumar Yadav 34(29) ct Maheesh Theekshana b Dasun Shanaka, India 119/4 Yeah, the pressure it is. Captain Shanaka with the wicket in just his first over. Both the well set batsmen are gone for India. Pant walks in.

IND 118/3 (14 overs) : No boundary conceded by Theekshana. Just six runs off that over. Pressure building on India again?

IND 112/3 (13 overs) : Karunaratne will be delighted with that over, gets the well-set Rohit Sharma’s wicket and concedes just 3. Rohit’s departure here obviously halts the fluency of the innings but both Suryakumar and Hardik Pandya are just the kind of guys you need to keep things going.

Vinayakk: Top innings that, by Rohit Sharma. From 10 off 9, when India had lost early wickets, finished with 62 off the next 32 balls.

WICKET! 12.2: Rohit Sharma 72(41) ct Pathum Nissanka b Chamika Karunaratne, India 110/3 T20I Century NO. 5 not to be for Hit-man but that is a brilliant knock from the captain under pressure.

Vinayakk: The 11th over, it looked like Rohit Sharma was just starting to struggle a little bit in the Dubai heat. Lost his shape, that usually happens when the limbs are tired. But boy, what a response in the 12th over. Two sixes and a four off Hasaranga.

IND 109/2 (12 overs) : It’s a 96 run partnership between the two and that is the most expensive over Sri Lanka have conceded so far. 18 runs off it. Rohit, on song, is a sight... two sixes and a four. Hasaranga on the receiving end of that brutality.

Sri Lanka need to buck up with the over rate, here. Can really come to bite later.

IND 91/2 (11 overs) : It’s turning out to be a great partnership between Suryakumar and Rohit. The captain’s the aggressor but Suryakumar seems to be joining the party. An uppercut for six from him the highlight here. A direct hit almost gets Rohit but missed.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: A 32-ball half century for Rohit Sharma, has felt like he has batted on a different surface as the cliche goes. Brilliant innings from the captain so far.

India halfway through the innings and it’s definitely looking like it’s time to accelerate.

IND 79/2 (10 overs) : FIFTY! Rohit Sharma is here and he’s looking good. He’s leading from the front and in this over, he’s played two stunning shots. A six off the first delivery that actually ends up hitting one of the bystanders (must’ve hurt bad) and the four off short fine to get the fifty.

IND 65/2 (9 overs) : Suryakumar pounces on Hasaranga’s fourth delivery and that’s a four off the deep mid-wicket. Just before that delivery, captain Shanaka almost pulled off a stunning catch at the covers. 11 runs off that over.

IND 54/2 (8 overs) : The runs are just not flowing here for India. The pitch obviously is playing a role and so are the early wickets but Sri Lanka’s bowlers are barely making an error here. Suryakumar has also been unusually quiet so far.

IND 49/2 (7 overs) : Wanindu Hasaranga’s first over here just brings 5 runs for India. The Sri Lankan spinners here are choking the game early on. Makes India’s Ashwin selection interesting.

IND 44/2 (6 overs) : A four over backward square from Rohit off Theekshana’s carrom ball there. India manage to grab eight runs off that over. India 44/2 after the powerplay.

IND 36/2 (5 overs) : Gorgeous back-to-back shots from Rohit there. A six over backward square followed by a backfoot punch for four. He’s attempting to ease the pressure here and it’s India’s most fruitful over so far, 14 runs off it.

IND 22/2 (4 overs) : Great toss to win for Sri Lanka, eh? A classic Rohit pull over midwicket in the fourth delivery. 7 runs off that Karunaratne over.

IND 15/2 (3 overs) : Horrid start for India. Compare this to the powerplay in the previous match and it just appears worse. The pressure’s on India and the swing here just doesn’t make it easier. Up to the Mumbai team mates Suryakumar and Rohit to lay a solid foundation atleast.

WICKET! 2.4: Virat Kohli 0(4) b Dilshan Madushanka, IND 13/2 Wow, Kohli completely missed that inswinger. The stumps are rattled and Madushanka is leaping with joy and why not... India in big trouble already, and it’s not even the end of the power play.

IND 11/1 (2 overs) : Rohit clearly frustrated with that KL dismissal. India really believe in that high-risk approach that they also showed in the powerplay against Pakistan but is Virat Kohli, who is in early, up to the challenge?

WICKET! 1.5: K L Rahul 6(7) lbw Maheesh Theekshana, IND 11/1 India are already one down! The stadium echoing with Sri Lanka chants. Rahul reviews but to no avail as it’s an umpire’s call. Spin does the trick.

IND 4/0 (1 over) : Dilshan Madushanka opens the attack and it’s been a pretty tidy first over. Watchful from India.

The Indian opening duo of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are out in the middle and it’s go time!

R Ashwin ahead of the encounter: Playing for India doesn’t need motivation. You need to wait for the opportunity. There’s no guarantee of a result but for me I look at being best prepared stay upbeat and when the opportunity comes, do the best to my ability. Not a lot of world teams get an opportunity to play a tournament like this before the T20 World Cup. Lot of good teams in this one from Asia and we are looking at this as preparation for the knockout games later on.

India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka

So, R Ashwin replaces Ravi Bishnoi. One would have expected Yuzvendra Chahal to be dropped after an underwhelming performance against Pakistan but India have opted to give him another chance. Do you agree with the selection?

TOSS: Dasun Shanaka wins the toss and Sri Lanka opt to bowl first.

While the rivalry between India and Pakistan is currently showing signs of not being one-sided, the same cannot be said for India and Sri Lanka. But India is in a precarious position, which makes the situation interesting. If they lose this game, their chances of making it to the final would depend entirely on the other teams.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja, who is ruled out of the Asia Cup, successfully underwent his knee surgery. It seems highly unlikely, but India would be hoping for him to complete his rehab and recover before the T20 World Cup next month.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 clash between India and Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

After a last-over defeat against Pakistan in their first match of the Super Four stage at the Asia Cup, Rohit Sharma-led India will face an upbeat Sri Lankan team in a crucial tie. India, the defending champions in the tournament, had emerged from the group stage unbeaten after victories against Pakistan and Hong Kong. But on Sunday, Babar Azam and Co got one back at their rivals with an impressive performance. Meanwhile Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka will come into Tuesday’s match with confidence after consecutive wins over the past week. Having started their campaign with a loss to Afghanistan, they first edged out Bangladesh in what was a knockout match in the group stage, before putting on a solid chase against Afghanistan in the Super 4 opener.

Asia Cup: ‘Looking forward to meeting world beaters India,’ says Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi.

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay, Ashen Bandara, Praveen Jayawickrama, Nuwanidu Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana