India are currently playing Sri Lanka in their Super 4 clash of Asia Cup 2025 and all attentions have been on star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who just bowled one over through out the match on Friday, 26th December at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
Batting first, India with the help of Abhishek Sharma (61) and crucial knocks from Sanju Samson (39) and Tilak Varma (49) went past the 200-run mark to set a target of 203 runs on the board.
In the run-chase, Pandya bowled only the first over, where he conceded 7 runs but manage to dismiss opener Kusal Mendis for a first-ball duck. But after that, the Mumbai Indians captain was not brought in by captain Suryakumar Yadav to bowl.
He later on went off the field, where Rinku Singh took his place as a substitute fielder. These are concerning things as the final is on 28th and if there is an injury concern, the Men in Blue might have to scratch their heads and think about an alternative against Pakistan.
If it’s a strategic move by the management then there is something else. Already the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube were rested for this match as we all know it is a dead rubber.
Speaking of the match, Pathum Nissanka’s brilliant hundred took the match into the final over and it looked like former captain Dasun Shanaka would take the game home but he instead managed to get the runs and force the game for a super over, which is the first of it’s kind in the ongoing tournament.
Speaking of the Super Over match, Arshdeep Singh bowled for India and restricted the Lankan Lions for just 2 runs, picking up a brace of wickets. The Men in Blue then chased down the 3 runs in the first ball itself to maintain their unbeaten streak in the tournament.
Finally at the post-match presentation, captain Suryakumar revealed that some of the boys had a lot of cramps and without mentioning their names, it looks like that he meant Hardik and Tilak Varma, who also joined the former later on.
”Few boys had a lot of cramps today, we will have a recovery day tomorrow and turn up the same way we turned up today (in the final)”, he said.