Hello and warm welcome to all cricket fans out there. International cricket is going in full swing as the ODI World Cup is just a month away and one multinational tournament Asia Cup is going on.
We will talk about the penultimate game of the Asia Cup Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka.
Pakistan looked like a fine side when they were heading towards this tournament. They were no.1 in this format and they started the campaign on high. But after just one match the foundation of the team got tumble. It was the India vs. Pakistan game which gave Pakistan management a serious headache. On that particular day, nothing went Pakistan's way except the toss and Pakistan lost 2 key players Harris Rauf and Naseem Shah due to injury.
On the other side, Sri Lanka passed the close shaves and got into the top 4.
Sri Lanka played some fine cricket against India and pushed them on the back foot with their splendid bowling effort but they couldn't get over the line.
And the game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka turned into a knockout game.
Playing IX of Pakistan
Pakistan made 5 changes in the team from the previous match
1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Babar Azam
4. Mohammed Rizwan
5. Mohammed Harris
6. Iftikhar Ahmed
7. Shadab Khan
8. Mohammed Nawaz
9. Shaheen Afraid
10. Muhammad Waseem Junior
11. Zaman Khan.
Playing IX of Sri Lanka
They made 2 changes from their previous match.
1. Pathum Nissanka
2. Kusal Perera
3. Kusal Mendis
4. Sadeera Sarawickrama
5. Charith Asalanka
6. Dananjaya de Silva
7. Dasun Shanaka
8. Dunith Wellalage
9. Maheesh Theekshana
10. Matheesha Pathirana
11. Promod Madhushan
Toss
It was a late start once again due to rain and Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat 1st in overcast conditions. It was 45 overs game.
Shaky Start from Pakistan
Promod Madhushan swung the ball early and troubled both Pakistani openers as they never looked comfortable especially out of form Fakhar Zaman faced another failure. He was bowled by in swinging Yorker.
Then Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Abdullah built an excellent partnership which was ended by left-arm spinner Wellalage. After that, there was a mini collapse as Pakistan found themselves on 130/5. Rain interrupted the match once again and it was a 42 overs game.
Muhammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed built a great partnership of 108 runs to put a total of 252 on the board. Muhammad Rizwan played a great hand of 86 runs off just 73 balls. Iftikhar Ahmed also contributed well with his 47 off just 42 balls.
Bresk start from Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan openers came with all guns blazing they were very aggressive against Pakistan premier bowler Shaheen Afridi. Kusal Perera got run out after playing some serious shots but Nissanka and Kusal Mendis made a nice partnership which was ended by Shadab Khan. Kusal Mendis continued the attack and built a match-defining partnership with the in-form Sadeera Samarawickrama.
Thrilling Finish
They were 177/3. Towards the back end, little collapse came their way which resulted in 8 runs from the final and 6 runs on the last 2 balls. Zaman Khan the debutant was bowling the final over and he did well. But the outside edge on the 5th ball from Asalanka went for boundary and he intelligently placed the last ball to square leg for 2 runs and got Sri Lanka over the line and qualified for the most important final.
That was a heartbreak for Pakistan as they came with some reputation in this tournament but just one match against India crushed them badly and they went under immense pressure. Hope they will get things right very soon because the mega event is just a few days away.
Conclusion
Anyone who thinks the health of ODI cricket is at peril has clearly never been to Sri Lanka. Well beyond midnight thousands continue to celebrate in the stadium, and millions all around the world. Celebrating not only a superb Sri Lankan win but also celebrating the unadulterated emotions that only live sport can bring to life!! Time to catch a break, it won’t be an India-Pakistan final, but Sri Lanka have earned their way here and the defending champs seem in no mood to relinquish their crown.
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