Ishan Kishan's record 80 and ruthless bowling crush Sri Lanka by 124 runs as India reach Asian Games final

India delivered a flawless all-round performance to crush Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the second men's cricket semifinal of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, booking a mouth-watering gold-medal rematch against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday, 3rd October, with the first ball scheduled for 4.30 am GMT (10 am IST).

Kishan's masterclass rescues the innings

A cracked surface had the ball turning both ways, with the odd delivery keeping low or jumping unpredictably, and Sri Lanka's spinners were in the game from ball one. Tharindu Ratnayake and skipper Sahan Arachchige exploited the conditions best, picking up two wickets apiece to leave India wobbling at 125 for 6.

Only Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the top four got past 20, a brisk 38 that gave India something to build on after Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson departed cheaply. But it was Ishan Kishan who truly rescued the innings, playing one of the finest knocks of his career to finish unbeaten on 80 off just 46 balls — accounting for nearly half the team's total on his own. Between him and Sooryavanshi, India dragged the total to a very competitive 169/7. Without that knock, India could easily have been staring at a score closer to 130 or less.

According to earlier reporting, the knock also broke Manish Pandey's eight-year-old record for the highest individual score by an Indian batter from No. 5 or lower in T20Is.

Bumrah sets the tone, spinners run riot

India were every bit as impressive in the field as with the ball, converting every half chance with real precision. Jasprit Bumrah set the tone perfectly with a double-wicket opening over, and from there the others kept chipping in: Axar Patel hammered away with his spin for a couple of crucial wickets, Washington Sundar chipped in with one, and Abhishek Sharma did the clean-up job at the end.

Sri Lanka bundled out for 45

The chase was nothing short of a disaster. Sri Lanka were bamboozled for a paltry 45, with Nuwanidu Fernando the only batter to cross double figures. Not a single batter could adapt to the turn and bounce, caving in under pressure with an urgency that cost wickets far too recklessly. Three run-outs — including Tharindu Ratnayake, whose partner sold him down the river as Tilak Varma hit a bullseye at the bowler's end — compounded the collapse.

Abhishek Sharma sealed the deal with three wickets in three balls, first having Chamika Karunaratne stumped by lightning-fast glovework from Sanju Samson, then bowling Binura Fernando through the gate to bundle Sri Lanka out for 45 in pursuit of 170.

What's next

India have confirmed at least a silver medal and will defend the gold they won last time around when they face Pakistan in Saturday's final. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will prepare for the bronze-medal match against Bangladesh, also on Saturday.