India stormed into the final of ICC champions trophy
Cardiff: India on Thursday stormed into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka..
The Indians put in a disciplined bowling show to restrict Sri Lanka to 181 for eight and then overhauled the target with as many as 15 overs to spare to set up a summit showdown with hosts England on Sunday.
Dhawan scored his second ODI half-century and his 77-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma (33) set up the easy victory. In a tournament where India have flexed their batting muscle, it were the bowlers who came to the party after India decided to chase.
Sharma gave the Indian innings a breezy start, punching Kulasekara through covers and Dhawan matched him with a similar stroke off Malinga, who struggled to find his bowling form on a big day. Malinga actually suffered a bit of humiliation when Dhawan upper cut him for a six at backward point.
As has been a feature in this tournament, Dhawan held one end up and except for lives on 18 and 62 – Kulasekara was the luckless bowler — the left-hander was a picture of confidence. His 50 came off 73 balls and was laced with six fours and a six.
