India has eased concerns over their World Cup preparation with solid performances in the Asia Cup, which finished with a resounding win over Sri Lanka in the final. Mohammed Siraj picked 6 for 21, the fourth-best figure by an Indian bowler, to bowl Sri Lanka out for only 50.

Shubman Gill finished as the leading run-scorer in the tournament, while Rohit Sharma stood out with three successive half-centuries. Virat Kohli was outstanding in the Super 4 match against Pakistan, hitting his 47th ODI hundred. At the same time, KL Rahul returned to international cricket with a superb hundred against Pakistan and a gritty knock against Sri Lanka the next day.

India has resolved most of their issues, but their bench strength remains a concern. Against Bangladesh, India had rested several of their first-choice players and lost by six runs despite a Gill hundred.

Things are looking good for some of India's young players. Gill is quickly closing the gap with Babar Azam for the top spot in the ICC rankings for batters, while Mohammed Siraj stormed to No.1 from No.9 after his destructive spell in the final on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has some severe issues to address. Their overt reliance on the top three in the batting order proved costly against India and Sri Lanka. The pace attack, the team's pride, failed against India. It appears that Naseem Shah will be ruled out of the World Cup.

Despite their No.1 ranking, Pakistan is clearly not the team to beat in this World Cup.

Akshay Ramesh and Saurabh Kumar join Rajarshi Gupta in another scintillating episode of the Sledging Room.

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Produced by Anna Priyadarshini

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