Asia Cup 2022: 3 Indian players who flopped in the must-win Super 4 match against Sri Lanka

Team India suffered a chastening defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage of the 2022 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday, September 6, to see their hopes of making the final slip from their grasp.

After being put in to bat first, India captain Rohit Sharma struck a dazzling fifty but didn't find much support from his fellow batters. Yuzvendra Chahal scalped three wickets in the second innings, on a night when most of the bowlers failed to make meaningful contributions.

The Men in Blue now need several results to go their way to make the final of the Asia Cup. Here are three Indian players who failed to deliver against Sri Lanka.

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#3 KL Rahul

KL Rahul was trapped in front by Maheesh Theekshana

KL Rahul's six innings in white-ball cricket since returning from a spate of injuries don't make for great reading. With scores of one, 30, 0, 36, 28 and six, the batter hasn't been in great form. The aforementioned 28, scored against Pakistan a couple of days ago, seemed to indicate that he wasn't a long way away from regaining his touch.

However, Rahul once again failed to deliver. He played all around a full delivery from Maheesh Theekshana that drifted in to be caught in front of the stumps, having made six. The 30-year-old's early dismissal put India under pressure, and although his opening partner tried his best with a valiant innings, the total the team managed wasn't enough.

Although Rahul is the vice-captain, his place in the team should be seriously questioned.

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#2 Hardik Pandya

India v Pakistan - DP World Asia Cup

India's star all-rounder was on the back of a tough outing against Pakistan, in which he bagged a duck and leaked runs in his four overs. Unfortunately for Hardik Pandya, his fortunes didn't improve massively against Sri Lanka.

Pandya was content to take his time at the start of his innings before finally deciding to get a move on in the 18th over. He struck a beautiful six over long-off to kindle hopes of acceleration, but fell soon after for 17 while trying to clear the long deep mid-wicket boundary.

Pandya was a touch unfortunate with the ball as a few edged boundaries ruined his figures, but he dished out far too many freebies during his spell. He went wicketless with his solitary over at the death yielding a four and a six, the latter of which was off a harmless leg-lined delivery.

Pandya remains the T20I side's most important player, but he probably won't be able to play as the third seamer. His ideal batting position must also be ascertained.

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#1 Virat Kohli

India v Pakistan - DP World Asia Cup

India's leading run-scorer in the 2022 Asia Cup couldn't add to his tally on Tuesday. Virat Kohli, who came into the game in a decent vein of form, lasted only four balls before attempting a wild heave across the line off Dilshan Madushanka. He found his stumps splayed across the ground and left the Men in Blue in massive trouble at 13/2.

Kohli fell into a classic trap, which was surprising for a player of his caliber. Sri Lanka left the mid-wicket area open, with two slips waiting for the edge off one angled across. Madushanka cleverly - but also expectedly - brought the ball back into the right-hander, whose imprudent shot didn't help matters.

Have we ever seen Kohli dismissed in such ungainly fashion? It was a strange dismissal for the Indian batting great, who couldn't deliver in a must-win game.