Home » Sports » Cricket » Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 80 sets 170-run target for Sri Lanka in Asian Games semi-final
India men’s cricket team established a target of 170 runs for Sri Lanka in the second semi-final of the Asian Games 2026 at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Thursday.
The match winner will face Pakistan in the gold medal contest on Saturday. India are the defending champions at the Asian Games.
After being asked to bat first, India opened with left-handed batsmen Abhishek Sharma and the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Sri Lanka began bowling with spinner Tharindu Ratnayake, who conceded only five runs initially, including a boundary from Sooryavanshi.
Abhishek Sharma hit a six in the next over but was dismissed on the following delivery by Sahan Arachchige after scoring seven runs from three balls. Sanju Samson joined the crease but was also dismissed by Ratnayake for seven runs in his second over.
Captain Shreyas Iyer entered before Ishan Kishan, and the pair added 35 runs for the third wicket alongside Sooryavanshi, who scored most of the runs. Sooryavanshi struck multiple boundaries in overs bowled by Binuar Fernando and Ratnayake, helping India reach 58 runs in the powerplay.
Sahan Arachchige took Sooryavanshi’s wicket soon after the powerplay, resulting in a slowdown in scoring. Kishan played aggressively, but India lost Iyer in the 10th over after he scored 13 runs from 13 balls.
Sri Lankan spinners then restricted India’s batsmen for several overs. Lasith Croospulle dismissed Axar Patel for eight runs off 13 balls in the 14th over. Kishan tried to accelerate with several boundaries, but Nuwanidu Fernando dismissed Tilak Varma at the end of the over.
Shivam Dube joined Kishan but was dismissed after making three runs from nine balls. Kishan reached his half-century with a six and continued to score boundaries in the following overs.
Washington Sundar and Kishan each hit a six in the 20th over, helping India finish their innings on 169 for seven. Kishan remained unbeaten on 80 runs from 46 balls, including five sixes and four fours.
India now rely on Jasprit Bumrah and their spinners to defend this challenging total against Sri Lanka, considering the pitch conditions at Korogi Sports Park.
This story is written by TNM Bureau with inputs from ANI. The News Mill is a Guwahati-based digital media with focus on content from across Northeast India and beyond. We can be reached through [email protected]
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