Mohammed Siraj was unstoppable with the ball as India routed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the final to win their eighth Asia Cup title in Colombo on Sunday, September 17, 2023.
It was a big boost for India going into the World Cup as they won their first multi-nation title after five years.
Shubman Gill continued his red-hot form in ODIs, while the fit-again duo of K L Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah came out with flying colours, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also performed well.
How India's players fared in the Asia Cup:
Rohit Sharma (7/10)
Rohit warmed up nicely for the World Cup with some good performances.
The captain would be hoping that the Asia Cup triumph spurs India to glory in the World Cup.
Rohit was not his usual dominant self with the bat, but still managed three fifties in a row, to finish with 194 runs at an average of 48.
Shubman Gill (8/10)
Gill was the top run-getter in Asia Cup 2023 with 302 runs in six innings at an average of 75, with a century and two fifties.
The only regret for the young opener will be not finishing the job against Bangladesh after he played a splendid innings of 121 but was unable to take his team to victory in a tight run chase.
Virat Kohli (7/10)
Kohli showed why he is still among the best when it comes to One-Day Internationals.
He smashed a brilliant 122* from 94 balls against Pakistan to power India to a huge 228-run victory but managed just 4 and 3 in the other two innings he played in the Asia Cup.
K L Rahul (9/10)
Rahul's superb comeback after a long injury lay-off is India's biggest takeaway from the Asia Cup triumph.
Rahul, who missed the first few games, dispelled all doubts about his fitness with 169 runs in four games at an average of 84, while also proving to be effective with the gloves, taking seven catches and one stumping.
Rahul didn't take time to going as he played a superb 111* from 106 balls in his first game in five months, following the thigh injury suffered during IPL 2023 in May.
Ishan Kishan (7/10)
Ishan made most of his chances during the Asia Cup.
In Rahul's absence, he donned the gloves along with batting in the middle order. He stroked a fluent 82 to help India bounce back after early wickets in tough conditions in the opening match against Pakistan.
But he found it tough against spinners, perishing cheaply against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on turning wickets.
He scored 143 in six games at an average of 47.
Hardik Pandya (8/10)
Hardik played his part to perfection with both bat and ball.
In the opening game against Pakistan, he played a responsible knock of 87 to rescue India, while he also proved effective with the ball throughout the tournament.
Hardik took six wickets in five games at an economy rate of 3.34 -- the best economy rate by any bowler in this edition Asia Cup 2023.
Shreyas Iyer (2/10)
Shreyas's injury is a big worry for India going into the World Cup.
He featured in just the first two games in the Asia Cup before he missed the rest of the tournament with back spasms. He fell for 14 against Pakistan and didn't get to bat against Nepal.
He is India's designated No 4 for the World Cup and if he is unable to start, then it disrupts India's plans big time.
Suryakumar Yadav (2/10)
Suryakumar's selection in the ODI team continues to be a big talking point.
He missed out on a big opportunity to silence his critics when he played in the inconsequential match against Bangladesh.
His struggles in 50-overs cricket continued as he fell after scoring just 26 attempting a rash sweep shot against spinner Shakib Al Hasan.
Tilak Varma (1/10)
Tilak failed in the lone opportunity he got in the Asia Cup.
He misjudged the line from pacer Tanzim Hasab Shakib as he was bowled offering no shot for 5, while with the ball too he failed to take a wicket in four overs.
Ravindra Jadeja (6/10)
Jadeja's batting has become a bit of worry for the Indians.
Jadeja, who averages 31 with the bat in ODIs, managed just 25 in three innings in the Asia Cup.
However, he fared much better with the ball with six wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 4.34.
Axar Patel (6/10)
Axar's World Cup participation is in serious doubt after he sustained a left quadriceps strain during the match against Bangladesh, which ruled him out of the Asia Cup final.
Axar is quite handy with the bat as he showed with a quality knock of 42 against Bangladesh, while his innings of 26 proved be quite decisive in India's narrow win against Sri Lanka.
However, he didn't make much of an impact with the ball, picking up one wicket in two games at an economy rate of 5.42.
Kuldeep Yadav (9/10)
Kuldeep continued his good form with the ball.
The left-arm spinner took apart Pakistan with figures of 5/25 while he helped India defend a low total against Sri Lanka with figures of 4/43.
His nine wickets in the Asia Cup came at an impressive economy rate of 3.61.
Jasprit Bumrah (7/10)
Bumrah made a successful comeback from a long-term injury during the Asia Cup.
He picked up four wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 4.17, but the best part was that the pacer bowled at full throttle without any discomfort of the back injury, which kept him out of action for a year.
Mohammed Siraj (10/10)
With Bumrah gradually easing into action, Siraj took the responsibility with the ball for India.
The Hyderabad speedster took the Asia Cup by storm with his amazing performance with the ball in the final.
Siraj became the first Indian bowler to pick four wickets in a single over, as he finished with memorable figures of 6/21, to destroy the Sri Lankan batting line-up.
He was India's highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup with 10 wickets at an economy rate of 4.63, with an amazing rate of 15.8.
Shardul Thakur (4/10)
All-rounder Thakur, preferred over Mohammed Shami, failed to deliver with the bat while he didn't make much with the ball either.
Thakur scored 14 runs in two innings, while he took five wickets from four games but proved to be expensive at 5.94.
Mohammed Shami (6/10)
Shami has fallen down in the pecking order in ODIs and is no longer an automatic choice in the playing XI.
He played the two non-important games -- against Nepal and Bangladesh -- in which he bagged three wickets, but was not considered for the final or any of the Pakistan matches.
Prasidh Krishna (3/10)
Krishna, who is also coming back after a major injury lay-off, got a rare opportunity against Bangladesh.
He took 1/43 in nine overs he sent down in the match.
