Picture Credit: Twitter
Serving as a precursor to the finals, Pakistan and Sri Lanka faced each other in the last Super Four fixture of the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai. Ahead of this game, both teams secured wins in both league matches of the Super Four stage and held confidence under their belt.
Invited to bat first, Pakistan could score only 121, with the top contributions of Babar Azam (30) and Mohammad Nawaz (26). The skilful spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka with three scalps. In response, the Dasun Shanaka-led side was rocked with three quick wickets in the powerplay overs.
However, the in-form batters Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa resurrected the team's innings and steered the team at a brisk rate. After the dismissal of Rajapaksa (19), skipper Shanaka arrived at the crease. The fluency of the 31-year-old was quite visible, after being successful in helping the team to chase down the scores in crunch moments.
With two maximums and a four, Shanka raced to 15-ball 21, but the pacer Mohammad Hasnain induced an edge off his willow in the 17th over. However, the catch involved confusion among Hasan Ali, who ran back from the mid-off, while Iftikhar Ahmed came rushing from the long-on area. Ali, who does not have a good history in plucking catches lately, grabbed a stunner by sticking his hand to the ball and send Shanka back to the hut.
Afterwards, Hasranga hit 10* off 3, while Nissanka remained unbeaten on 55 to seal the chase for the team, with three overs to spare. Both teams will lock horns on Sunday (11 September) in the Finals of the Asia Cup 2022.
