Colombo: The first semi-final of the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals 2013 began on a sunny afternoon at the R. Premadasa Stadium. And India\u2019s day got sunnier when they won the toss and elected to bat first. Eager to not disappoint the home supporters, yet mindful of India\u2019s batting caliber, Sri Lanka started out cautiously against the destructive pair of Deepak Sharma and Jaskaran Singh Sohi.<\/p>\n
India looked to cut loose as they had in the group stages but Madushanka had Sharma out LBW for just six. Singh was joined by Gaurav Tandon and the pair put on 81 in just eight overs for the second wicket before dangerman Singh was dismissed for 47.<\/p>\n
Tandon scored his first 50 of the tournament before he and Indian captain Kunal Mahajan were both dismissed by the Lankan skipper Sahan Perera in the 13th over. Centurion from the third day, Gurinder Singh continued his fine form with a quickfire 60 off 25 balls, that included five sixes and five fours, to take India to a commanding total of 210\/4. Sahan Perera was once again Sri Lanka\u2019s best bowler, picking up 2\/29.<\/p>\n
Needing to get 211, Sri Lanka\u2019s first four batsmen were dismissed without any of them reaching double figures. With the hosts needing a big knock from one its batsmen, skipper Sahan Perera stepped up to the plate – supported well by Rumesh Madushanka- and anchored the innings with his unbeaten 72 off 47. Madushanka would finish with 69 not out off 39 balls. It was a tremendous fight back that took the game into the last over. But Gurinder Singh bowled a tight over under pressure that gave away only three runs to secure India victory by 16 runs.<\/p>\n
Gurinder Singh\u2019s knock of 60 and 2 for 22 in the bowling department, made the difference for India – an effort that earned him the \u2018Man of the Match\u2019. It was a great comeback by Sri Lanka but not enough to beat India who go through to the finals of the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals 2013, having lost just one match in their run to the game.<\/p>\n
The Indian team\u2019s run-up to the finals has been fuelled by a series of consistent performances in the league stage of the tournament. The key contributors to the Indian team\u2019s winning streak have been Jasakaran Singh and Vishwas Khatak who have showcased tremendous agility and guile.<\/p>\n
They defeated Australia\u2019s University of New South Wales twice in the league stages. Keeping the momentum of their victory going, they defeated Karachi University, Pakistan by eight wickets and smashed their way into the semi-finals in their second match against Australia. Having won 4 out of the 5 matches they have played, the team is a favourite to win the tournament<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Colombo: The first semi-final of the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals 2013 began on a sunny afternoon at the R. Premadasa Stadium. And India\u2019s day got sunnier when they won the toss and elected to bat first. Eager to not disappoint the home supporters, yet mindful of India\u2019s batting caliber, Sri Lanka started out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[8244,8243,8241,1205,6293,8242,8240,1204],"class_list":["post-13723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-isn-front-stories","tag-deepak-sharma","tag-gaurav-tandon","tag-gurinder-singh","tag-india","tag-indian-sports-news-network","tag-jaskaran-singh-sodhi","tag-red-bull-campus-cricket-world-finals-2013","tag-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"\n