EXPLAINED! After losing to Pakistan & Sri Lanka, how India can still qualify for Asia Cup 2022 final

India lost to Sri Lanka in a must-win Super Four clash at the Asia Cup 2022 edition on Tuesday (September 06), at the iconic Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. After losing to Pakistan in their opening clash in the Super Four round, Rohit Sharma & Co. were expected to bounce back over the eighth-ranked Lankans, however, Dasun Shanaka & Co. beat them by six wickets in a pulsating 174-run chase.

Opting to bowl first, Sri Lanka rode on early strikes from Dilshan Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana before Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne dented the run-flow in the end overs. Rohit's 41-ball 72 and some contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (34), Rishabh Pant-Hardik Pandya (17 runs a piece) and R Ashwin's 7-ball 15 not out took India to 173/8.

In reply, Kusal Mendis-Pathum Nissanka's half-centuries and Shanaka-Bhanuka Rajapaksha's finishing cameos took SL past the finish line in another last-over thriller in Dubai. With back-to-back defeats, after dominating the group stage, India have one foot on the flight back home. They, however, have a slim chance of making it to the final. Nonetheless, the Men in Blueneed a lot of things to fall in their favour.

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How can Team India still make it to the final

India will need help from all the other teams in the tournament to remain alive and somehow enter the final.

Sri Lanka: The defending champions will need the Islanders to beat Pakistan by a handsome margin. The Dasun Shanaka-led side are very much through to the final but can keep India alive with a big win over the Men in Green in their remaining fixture in the Super Four.

Pakistan: Babar-led Pakistan have two more games to go. If they win any of them, it will be curtains for India in the tournament. For India to remain alive, they need their arch-rivals to lose to Sri Lanka by a big margin and also succumb to the Afghans, on Wednesday (September 07), by a relatively close margin.

Afghanistan: The Mohammad Nabi-led side also have two games to play. They need to beat Pakistan at any cost for India's hopes to be alive. Later, India will hope to go past the Afghans by a big margin and somehow sneak into the final.

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After the loss versus SL, a dejected Rohit said at the post-match presentation, "We just ended up on the wrong side, as simple as that. We could have capitalized on the first half of our innings. We fell 10-15 runs short. The second half wasn't good for us. The guys who were out in the middle can learn about what shots can be played. These things can happen. Losses like these will make us understand what works as a team."

He added, "Since the last World Cup, we haven't lost too many games. These games will teach us. We wanted to put ourselves under pressure in the Asia Cup. We are still looking for answers."