Asia Cup 2022: Twitter recalls MS Dhoni after Rishabh Pant’s missed run-out in IND vs SL match
Asia Cup: Had Rishabh Pant hit stumps,Rajapaksa who was running towards the strikers end would have been out and result would have been decided in final ball
Just like the last match against Pakistan, India’s second Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday was yet another edge-of-the-seat thriller that went to the penultimate ball of the final over. Sri Lanka looked to be running away with the match during their run chase but a couple of strikes from the Indian bowlers stretched the match to the final over. Sri Lanka eventually went on to win the match but not without drama in the final over
India vs Sri Lanka: Rishabh Pant misses direct hit, fans recall MS Dhoni
With two runs needed from the last two deliveries of the match, Dasun Shanaka failed to connect the ball from Arshdeep Singh but decided to take the run. Pant, who had taken his right-hand glove off, threw the ball directly at the stumps but missed it.
Had the ball hit the stumps, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was running towards the striker’s end would have been out, and the result would have been decided in the final ball. Following Pant’s miss, fans flooded social media with messages remembering former skipper MS Dhoni. Even former India batsman Hemang Badani also missed Dhoni’s accuracy behind the stumps.
What are India’s chances of playing the final
Going by the current standings, Sri Lanka are currently leading the Asia Cup 2022 points table. Following their victory against Bangladesh and India, the Lankan Lions have amassed four points with an impressive net run rate of +0.351. Pakistan are seated second with two points, bearing a net run rate of +0.126. India are third after two consecutive defeats, with a negative net run rate of -0.125. Afghanistan is last on the points tally with a negative run rate of -0.589.
Despite the loss vs Sri Lanka, India still has glimmer of hope of qualifying for the final depending on other resuts. To start with, India needs to beat Afghanistan by a huge margin, which will improve its NRR. The Men in Blue would be hoping that Afghanistan beats Pakistan on Wednesday and Sri Lanka defeats Pakistan on Friday.
However, if Pakistan manage to win even one of the two matches, they will earn qualification for the final. If Afghanistan and Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan and India defeats the Afghan side by a huge margin, India will join Sri Lanka in the summit clash, which would have reached the final on the back of three consecutive wins.
It is pertinent to mention that the last two defeats for India have come in the last over of the innings, which suggests that a big win over Afghanistan might put them back on track for the Asia Cup 2022 final.
