Sri Lanka spinners strike key blows against India in Asian Games semi-final thriller

Sri Lanka's spin attack fought back forcefully after aggressive cameos from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan in the high-stakes Asian Games Men's T20I semi-final clash against India.

Sooryavanshi leads early onslaught

India made a brisk start in the Powerplay, powered by the enterprising strokeplay of young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The opener unleashed an array of attacking shots, taking apart spinner Tharindu Ratnayake and pacer Binura Fernando. Sooryavanshi brought up India's 50 within five overs courtesy of towering sixes and crisp reverse sweeps.

However, Sri Lankan captain Sahan Arachchige turned the tide by removing the dangerous opener. Looking to clear the ropes once again, Sooryavanshi mistimed a lofted drive, providing an easy top-edge catch to Sineth Jayawardena at short third to leave India at 59/3 in 6.2 overs.

Spinners tighten the screws despite Kishan's counter-attack

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan joined Shreyas Iyer in the middle and immediately took the attack to the opposition bowlers. Kishan smashed massive sixes against leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and left-arm spinner Wanuja Sahan over the mid-wicket and long-on boundaries.

Sri Lanka found another breakthrough when Wanuja Sahan produced a beauty to dismiss Shreyas Iyer. Sahan landed a delivery on middle stump that spun sharply away from the right-hander, beating Iyer's defensive forward push and crashing into the stumps.

With Sahan Arachchige and Wanuja Sahan applying pressure through disciplined spin bowling, Sri Lanka successfully stemmed India's rapid scoring rate in the middle overs.