Not for the first time in the tournament, the first half of India’s innings was all about Abhishek Sharma. But with Sunday’s T20 Asia Cup final against Pakistan beckoning, two middle-order batters got among the runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday night.

In theory, this was a match of mere statistical relevance with Sri Lanka eliminated, but there is no such thing as a dead rubber in international cricket. India, one suspects, had more to aim for than Sri Lanka, playing only for pride. They will be disappointed that there was no significant contribution from either their captain or his deputy, they will be heartened by Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson playing themselves into the runs. India raced away to 202-5, the highest total of the tournament, to keep themselves on course for their sixth successive victory.