Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's resounding win over Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023 final ft. Kapil Dev

It proved to be a walk in the park for Team India as they thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the Asia Cup 2023 final on Sunday. This gave the Men in Blue their eighth Asia Cup title and also a huge confidence-booster leading into the World Cup.

Sri Lanka opted to bat first and while Rohit Sharma would have done the same, he couldn't be happier to lose a good toss as his pacers wreaked havoc. Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers with career-best figures of 6/21 as the Lankans were bowled out for just 50.

The openers Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan made short work of it as India won the game in 6.1 overs, their biggest win in ODIs in terms of balls to spare. On that note, let's take a look at five of the best reactions from experts:

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#5 Dodda Ganesh

Former cricketer Dodda Ganesh took a sly dig at some fans who always criticized head coach Rahul Dravid for India's failures in the recent past. He felt that Dravid deserved plaudits for the Asia Cup win because of his hard work behind the scenes.

Here's what he posted on X:

"India on the verge of a thumping win today in the #AsiaCup finals. And, Rahul Dravid is still not trending on X. Well, only the blame goes to Rahul when the team fails, but when the team wins, he’ll be forgotten. Well, the kind of world we live in."

Ganesh is hoping that the Men in Blue will win the World Cup so that it gives Dravid the respect he deserves.

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#4 Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj for his sensational six-wicket haul. He claimed that the pacer could have had more wickets had he finished his quota of overs.

In a video on his YouTube channel, the former opener said:

"Sensational, spectacular Siraj showed his magic. It's not enough no matter how much you praise Siraj. He was absolutely sensational, took as many as six. If Rohit (Sharma) had allowed him to bowl all his overs, he might have taken seven or eight."

Chopra also claimed that it was a kind of defeat that Sri Lanka could take a while to get over.

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#3 Wasim Akram

While Siraj rightly received plaudits for his stunning performance, Pakistan's legendary pacer Wasim Akram pointed out that Hardik Pandya is also a vital part of the Indian bowling unit. He believes the Men in Blue are the favorites for the World Cup due to the way they just blew Sri Lanka away.

Here's what Akram told Star Sports.

"He (Hardik Pandya) is their main weapon in the upcoming World Cup and India are one of the favorite teams to win it. For starters, they are playing at home and we have seen what they can do with the ball."

Hardik picked up six wickets at the Asia Cup at an economy rate of just 3.34.

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#2 Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar was just in awe of the pace attack for the way they just bamboozled the Sri Lankan batters. He shed light on how the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj keeping Mohammed Shami out of the team spoke volumes about the depth of talent.

Here's what Gavaskar told India Today:

"Honestly, I can't recall when we had something like that. But it just tells you the quality of the new ball attack, that India have. A lot of times, people talk about Pakistan's new ball attack. But I think this Indian new ball attack, with Bumrah coming back. Bumrah might not have got the wickets, but he kept the pressure on.

"Don't forget, we have someone like Mohammed Shami, who is not playing in the XI. So it just tells you that the reserve India has, as far as pace bowling is concerned."

Gavaskar also hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj for his incredible commitment with the ball and also in the field as he chased a delivery right ill the boundary off his own bowling.

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#1 Kapil Dev

Former Indian skipper and World Cup winner Kapil Dev was delighted to see the pacers wreaking havoc away from home. He used to play in an era where Team India were arguably more dependent on the spinners to do the damage and thus, the performance against Sri Lanka filled him with pride.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of J&K Open, Kapil Dev stated:

"It is wonderful (to see Siraj bowl). I feel so happy that nowadays in all continents our fast bowlers are taking all 10 wickets, that’s the cherry on the cake. There was a time when we used to depend on spinners, it is not anymore, that’s why the strength of the team becomes so good."

Kapil doesn't want to put extra pressure on the Men in Blue by calling them the favorites for the World Cup, as he feels just like any other team, they, too, will need luck on their side in the knockouts.