In the 2nd semi-final of the Asian Games 2026 men’s T20 cricket tournament at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, India delivered a quality, all-round effort to obtain a resounding 124-run win over Sri Lanka.
Batting first, India’s innings was much of a rescue act by Ishan Kishan (80) on a wicket offering sharp turn. After early wickets left the top order in trouble, which included early dismissals of Abhishek Sharma (7) and Sanju Samson (7), youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (38) played a quickfire knock to counter-punch what happened early on. Post his dismissal, the Men in Blue faced another collapse through the middle order, where Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube fell in quick succession. It was Ishan Kishan who anchored the knock brilliantly to help India recover. Facing a quality spin attack, Kishan played calculated sweeps and lofted hits down the ground, remaining unbeaten and recording the highest individual T20I score by an Indian batter from position No. 5 or lower. His late show helped India to reach a formidable 169/7, which proved far beyond Sri Lanka’s reach.
Sri Lanka’s chase of 170 ended disastrously, resulting in one of their greatest batting collapses in T20I history. Sri Lankan top order faced India’s commanding speed and unrelenting spin with little resistance, having lost momentum from the first over. The openers were flung away in the powerplay, leaving the team at 2/3 within minutes, caused by mistakes in shot selection and hurried rushing that resulted in early dismissals. With no batter able to form a partnership or adjust to the changing pitch, Sri Lanka bowed entirely to the scoreboard pressure, folding for 45 runs in less than 10 overs.
India’s bowlers followed their plans beautifully, taking full advantage of the favourable circumstances to decimate Sri Lanka’s batting lineup. Jasprit Bumrah set the tone early, hitting twice in his first over with quick movement and exquisite accuracy to demolish the top order. Axar Patel was dangerous on the gripping surface, taking quick wickets in the powerplay to rip through Sri Lanka’s middle order and leave them at 18/5. With tight overs and skilful fielding that resulted in vital run-outs, the Indian attack put the pedal to the metal, took all ten wickets in 10 overs, and clinched an emphatic victory.
For Sri Lanka with the ball, Tharindu Ratnayake and Arachchige were effective against India’s main batters early on, consistently beating the bat with sharp movement and landing double strikes to reduce India to 88/4 by the halfway mark. However, their discipline slipped during the death overs against a set Ishan Kishan. Over-pitching outside off and missing yorker lengths in the final overs allowed India to collect 18 runs off the 20th over, squandering the advantage they had built during the early and middle phases of the innings.
With this win, India have reached the final of the Asian Games 2026 and will face arch-rivals Pakistan.
Scorecard:
India: 169/7, Overs 20, Ishan Kishan 80*, Sahan Arachchige 2/28
Sri Lanka: 45/10, Overs 9.5, Nuwanidu Fernando 15, Abhishek Sharma 2/2
