Sri Lanka experimented with their composition by resting four first choice players, challenged the conditions by electing to chase under the lights and were able to come out on top in the final league game of the Asia Cup here on Tuesday.

India and Sri Lanka will get a trial run before their conclusive Asia Cup clash. Tuesday’s final league game is a chance for both sides to asses various factors. Dinesh Karthik is expected to open the innings in place of Virender Sehwag. Other than that, the rest of the team that defeated Pakistan should remain the same.

Pakistan reserved their best cricket for the most inconsequential tie of the Asia Cup. After scoring their highest score of 385/7, Shahid Afridi’s men kept Bangladesh down to 246 to win by 139 runs. Batting records tumbled thanks to a rampant Afridi (124, 60b, 17x4, 4x6) as Pakistan bettered their previous best of 371/6 scored against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1996.

When Dinesh Karthik joined the practice session on Monday, his team mates joked that he was already been in Sri Lanka waiting for a regular member to get injured. The script is becoming frequent and this time, he replaces Virender Sehwag, has had injuries following him like a faithful dog.

The last time Australia went home without the World Cup was way back in 1996 and it was the enigmatic Aravinda de Silva who spoilt the party for Mark Taylor and Co.

Saturday’s clash had all the ingredients for a thriller. India’s rivalry with Pakistan has been so intense that anything normal is perceived as boring.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has regained form at the right time for Sri Lanka. In conditions where run gathering is not easy, the opener dished out a particularly authoritative innings against Bangladesh. His all-round effort of 71 runs and three wickets gave him the man of the match award.

The pride and passion missing in the field was back with the bat as India built on a well-planned chase to seal a spot in the Asia Cup final. Chasing a challenging 268, India reached the mark off the penultimate ball and will meet Sri Lanka in Thursday’s final.

The only time when the teams were on par was during the toss. Once the coin fell in favour of the hosts, it was a one-horse race.
Sri Lanka took a confident step towards the final of the Asia Cup with an authoritative 126-run win over Bangladesh here on Friday. After registering the highest score at t

There are a clutch of worries for M.S. Dhoni and Shahid Afridi as the Asian powerhouses seek deliverance. A win here would be good tonic to one side troubled with fitness issues while the other are in a shambles thanks to dressing room squabbles and the ugly head of match fixing rearing its head again.