Abhishek Sharma, spinners help India beat Bangladesh by 41 runs, reach Asia Cup final

Abhishek Sharma's breezy fifty was complemented well by left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as India outclassed Bangladesh by 41 runs in a Super 4s match to seal the Asia Cup final berth in Dubai on Wednesday.

Chasing a par target of 169 that India set, Bangladesh were bundled out for 127 in 19.3 overs.

Sri Lanka, who lost both their Super 4s matches, are now out of the race to the final and Thursday's match between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be a virtual knockout contest for a place for the summit clash on Sunday.


Kuldeep (3/18), Axar Patel (1/37) and Varun Chakaravathy (2/29) did the bulk of damage for India with the ball.

For Bangladesh, Saif Hassan (69, 51 balls) was the top-scorer.

Earlier, opener Abhishek hammered a 37-ball 75 but the rest of the batters failed to produce a big score as India settled for a par 168 for six.

Abhishek shared a blistering opening-wicket stand of 77 runs in 6.2 overs with Shubman Gill (29) that gave India a strong start.

But once Gill and Abhishek departed, Indian middle-order failed to sustain the momentum.

Brief scores: 168/6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 77, Shubman Gill 29, Hardik Pandya 38) beat Bangladesh 127 all out in 19.3 overs (Saif Hassan 69; Kuldeep Yadav 3/18, Varun Chakravarthy 2/29, Axar Patel 1/37) by 41 runs. PTI