Indian cricket team broke several records with a magnificent 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final on Sunday. The chief architect of India’s win was pacer Mohammed Siraj, who mercilessly ripped apart Sri Lanka’s top order in the title clash with six wickets to his name. Courtesy Siraj’s dream opening spell and vital contributions from Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, Team India bundled out the hosts for just 50 runs. Later, the Rohit Sharma-led side finished off the proceedings in just 6.1 overs.
Ever-since India registered the historic win, wishes from all over the world have been pouring in across all the social media platforms. However, before the final match, former pacer Dodda Ganesh lauded India head coach Rahul Dravid and called-out the fans for not giving credit to him for the team’s triumph.
“India on the verge of a thumping win today in the #AsiaCup finals. And, Rahul Dravid is still not trending on X. Well, only the blame goes to Rahul when the team fails, but when the team wins, he’ll be forgotten. Well, the kind of world we live in. I so badly want India to win the #WC2023 for the sake of Rahul Dravid. The unsung hero of Indian cricket #INDvSL,” Ganesh wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
India on the verge of a thumping win today in the #AsiaCup finals. And, Rahul Dravid is still not trending on X. Well, only the blame goes to Rahul when the team fails, but when the team wins, he’ll be forgotten. Well, the kind of world we live in. I so badly want India to win…
— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) September 17, 2023
Rahul Dravid has been under the scanner ever-since he benched Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the ODIs against West Indies in July, in order to test the new combinations in the team.
After successfully winning the Asia Cup, Team India’s next assignment is the three-match ODIs against Australia, which will kick-start from Friday. On Monday, skipper Rohit Sharma and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the squad for the upcoming series.
Ravichandran Ashwin, veteran spinner and India’s highest Test wicket-taker among active cricketers, is set to play his first ODI since January, 2022.
The series is the final dress rehearsal for hosts India before the 2023 Cricket World Cup, starting on October 5. Ashwin is not part of the World Cup squad, but his selection has raised speculation.
Squad for the first two ODIs: KL Rahul (captain), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Squad for third ODI:Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
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