Watch: Confusion In Indian Dugout As Hardik Pandya Is Promoted Above Rishabh Pant In Asia Cup Match vs Sri Lanka
Asia Cup, IND vs SL: In a surprise move, Hardik Pandya was sent to bat above Rishabh Pant during India's innings against Sri Lanka.
India find themselves on the brink of being knocked out the Asia Cup after defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage. On Tuesday, Sri Lanka beat India by six wickets in Dubai to all but seal their berth in the final. India's batting lineup struggled against the Lankan bowlers, with Rohit Sharma's 41-ball 72 the standout performance. Except Rohit, only Suryakumar Yadav made a meaningful contribution, scoring 34 off 29. The team management also shuffled the batting order a little, sending Hardik Pandya out ahead of Rishabh Pant, who usually bats above the all-rounder.
As the third wicket fell for India, Pant was getting ready to step out, but he and Hardik were told that it was the latter who had to go out first.
There seemed to be a bit of confusion, as Hardik confirmed if he had to only go out. Pant then sat down as Hardik got his helmet on.
No place for him in t20i at the moment, but it hurts#INDvSL #RishabhPant#INDvsSL #AsiaCupT20 #AsiaCup2022 #HardikPandya #ViratKohli #SLvIND #SLvsIND pic.twitter.com/HnBS0U34It
— saqlain ejaz (@saqlain692022) September 6, 2022
How much the switch-up helped India is debatable as both batters went on to register identical scores of 17 off 13 deliveries each.
India posted a total of 173/8 in their 20 overs after being put in to bat by Sri Lank.
Sri Lanka got off to a great start in their chase, with their openers stitching a 97-run partnership to all but take the game away from India.
Pathum Nissanka scored 52 off 37, while Kusal Mendis went on to hit 57 off 37 deliveries.
Nissanka's wicket triggered a mini-collapse for Sri Lanka as they lost four wickets in the space of 13 runs, but captain Dasun Shanaka along with the veteran Bhanuka Rajapaksa steered them home with a delivery to spare and no further additions to the wickets column.
The two put on 64 runs for the fifth wicket, with Shanaka scoring 33 off 18 and Rajapaksa making 25 off 17.
India Cricket Team
Sri Lanka Cricket Team
Rishabh Pant
Hardik Pandya