India clinched their 8th Asia Cup title by defeating Sri Lanka in the finals at Premadasa with a record breaking margin. Throughout the tournament the Indian team dominated all the oppositions and played very professional cricket, barring the Bangladesh match where most of the regular players were given rest.

The pitch looked pretty dry as explained by experts, it was a no brainer, win the toss and bat first, that’s what Sri Lanka did. As the match was just about to start, the rain gods had other plans, and it started to drizzle and the entire ground was covered in minutes. After a delay of 40 minutes the match started at 3:40 (IST). Despite losing the toss in the overcast condition in Colombo, India’s new-ball pair of Bumrah and Siraj wasn’t likely to get discouraged. As a result of some rain, the fast bowlers were getting some assistance, unlike in previous games, Jasprit Bumrah has already made a substantial impact by taking a wicket of Kusal Parera in his first over. In the space of six balls, Siraj beat Kusal Mendis outside edge four times, ominously beginning his day. The pressure was mounting on the home side with dot balls and unplayable deliveries by Indian fast bowlers especially Siraj.

In the fourth over, when Siraj hit Pathum Nissanka with a length ball and out-swinger at backward point to Jadeja, who took an exceptional diving catch, to become the first victim. One ball later, Sadeera Samarawicrama was struck by an in-swinger, which nipped in after pitching outside off, and beat the inside edge and hit his front pad, the umpire raised the finger in a flash. Then to the batters surprise, Siraj delivered a full delivery to Charith Asalanka, who chipped it  straight to Ishan Kishan at cover. And Dhananjay De Silva came to face the hat-trick ball, Siraj bowled a pretty good delivery but Dhananjay played a very confident shot towards mid-on for four runs. Even though it wasn’t necessary, Siraj chased the ball to save the boundary to add a little comic to the match and Indian players were seen smiling in the field but full marks for the effort. It was much needed relief for Sri Lanka in more ways than one after Siraj struck three times in four deliveries, and the four from Dhananjay on the hat-trick ball was very much needed. But it was short lived. Another fuller delivery followed, with a hint of out-swing, outside off, on the final ball of the over got the better of Dhananjay De Silva, who should have ideally let go, but instead nicked behind KL Rahul and became the fourth victim of the over. Siraj claimed a few records in the fourth over, but he also effectively sealed the fate of the Asia Cup final.

In just four overs , Sri Lanka had no chance of redemption, but Siraj had some unfinished business. Siraj told the official broadcaster after the innings break that he took four wickets against Sri Lanka last time in Thiruvananthapuram, but couldn’t get the fifth wicket. As a result, I decided to keep it simple and execute my line and length, and I continued to get wickets.

In the sixth over, after three full wide deliveries, Siraj followed through beautifully to set up the Sri Lankan skipper next. With the one that was pitching in the line with his middle stump, which sent Dhasun Shanaka packing. Shanaka’s off-stump took a beating because of the late movement. Siraj took a fifer in just 16 balls – his first joint-fastest ODI wicket. A devious in-swinger to Kusal Mendis in his sixth over helped him rack up a career best figure of 6/21. ” When I play white-ball cricket, I try to swing the new ball, and today was an excellent day for swing. It was a nice feeling when it caught the edge. The initial matches didn’t offer much swing, so I tried to make the batters play as much as possible. I hadn’t picked up as many wickets with my out-swing, today I got a lot, because of the swing. I tried to make the batters drive, bring them forward, and get their wickets today. That was my plan. I did not chase after wickets, but the conditions did a lot of work for me. If you keep hitting the wickets consistently, you’ll keep getting wickets “.

Siraj could have taken his seventh wicket in the day but KL Rahul miss-judged the outside edge which fell short of Virat Kohli at first slip. Against a stunned home crowd, Sri Lanka were wiped out for just 50 runs in 15.2 overs.

To our surprise, Rohit Sharma did not open the innings and instead gave an opportunity to young Ishan Kishan to open with Shubham Gill. A target that the Indian openers only managed to reach in the sixth over.

The Indian captain praised the 29-year-old Siraj for making history after turning around a disappointing performance against Nepal earlier in the tournament. Siraj has to be given a lot of credit for what he did. I didn’t expect the ball to do that much, but it’s a matter of the individual’s skill set. This is very rare because you don’t often see someone who can move the ball in the air and off the pitch. He’s coming of age,” It’s going to be a big year for him,” Rohit said.

This was one the most complete performances by team India. The preparation they put in coming to the Asia Cup paid off and all boxes ticked before the ODI World Cup in October. This victory not only brings pride to the nation but also further establishes India’s position as one of the strongest teams in the coming ICC ODI World Cup.