Team India has suffered a major setback before the Asia Cup final. In fact, in the match played against Sri Lanka on Friday, all -rounder Hardik Pandya went out of the field after bowling only one over. At the same time, star opener Abhishek Sharma was also seen in trouble. Pandya took the wicket of Sri Lankan opener Kusal Mendis, starting India’s 202 -run rescue. However, after the over was over, he was seen holding his thigh and after that he went out of the field. He did not return again in the match, which increased the concern before the final.
However, bowling coach Morkel later said that Pandya was crazy under the humid conditions of Dubai. Taking a sigh of relief, the team management confirmed that the all -rounder had not suffered any serious injury. But the decision on their availability in the final will be taken after checking their fitness on Saturday.
Hard day for Indian bowlers
Indian players had to work hard on the field on Friday as Sri Lanka tied the match by scoring 202 runs in 20 overs thanks to Pathum Nishanka’s brilliant 107 runs. After this, the match went to the super over, where Sri Lanka collapsed and could score only two runs in just five balls.
Also read: Abhishek Sharma created history, Mohammad Rizwan’s record collapsed, Rohit Sharma also equaled Rohit Sharma
Abhishek Sharma also saw a problem
Abhishek Sharma, who scored a third consecutive half -century in the tournament, was also cramps and was temporarily replaced by a substitute fielder during Sri Lanka’s innings. Morkel said, both of them got cramps. We will assess Hardik at night and take a decision on this in the morning. Both had only cramps problem.
*India has no practice on Saturday*
Morkel confirmed that India would not practice a day before the final and focus on recovery. In contrast, Pakistan will get additional rest as they played their last Super-4 match on Thursday. Morkel said, ‘I don’t think there will be any training. The boys are already in the ice bath and their recovery process has started soon after the end of the match. The best way is to sleep and relax the feet. Hopefully they will get good sleep and will get up refreshed tomorrow.
Also read: Team India, which blows up the smoke of Pakistan, will have to be careful in the finals with these 5 mistakes
Let us know that India had given rest to Jaspreet Bumrah and Shivam Dubey for their last Super-4 match. Asian giants will be hopeful that Hardik will recover on time as their presence gives an important balance to the team. The most important thing is that his performance in pressure, as was seen in the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
If Pandya remains unavailable, India will probably take off Arshdeep Singh, who supported the team on important occasions despite expensive early spells on Friday. India and Pakistan will be face to face in the final of the Asia Cup for the first time.
—- End —-