What a fitting conclusion to a thrilling cricket match played at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium. While some could refer to it as a nightmare, others might call it cinema. Depending on the side of the argument you choose. In spite of this, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan in the game’s final delivery by two wickets to advance to the Asia Cup 2023 finals.
Pakistan scored 252 runs in 42 overs thanks to the solid batting of Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, who batted first. However, several batters have fallen short, which is a major issue before the ODI World Cup. Sri Lanka got off to a great start in the chase and established the tempo of the contest. Despite providing the ideal start, Kusal Perera was unable to capitalise. To help Sri Lanka get close to winning, Kusal Mendis, who played with composure, scored 91 runs in 87 deliveries.
In the following round, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka played incredibly well. With two needed in the final ball, Asalanka remained composed and completed the task for his team, despite Shaheen Shah Afridi having turned the tide in Pakistan’s favour with back-to-back wickets in the game’s penultimate over.
Talking points of the Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka game Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed’s cooperation
Pakistan needs an exceptional batting performance. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed had to change their strategy because the batsmen squandered a lot of deliveries in the first few overs. The stumper-batter ultimately scored 86* runs off 73 pitches, whereas Iftikhar scored 47 runs off 40 pitches. Pakistan put 252 runs on the board thanks to their knocks, something they didn’t anticipate at first.
The man, the legend, and the myth: Kusal Mendis
Kusal Mendis has stepped up and taken charge whenever Sri Lanka has faced challenges recently. He scored 91 runs, which completely altered the outcome of the contest. Due to his outstanding performance, Sri Lanka was able to advance to his 11th Asia Cup final.
When the hour comes, the man comes by Charith Asalanka
Sri Lanka was about to bottle up following the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama. But Asalanka and Mendis developed a vital alliance to keep the ship sailing. He ultimately decided to take matters into his own hands and finished the work while maintaining exceptional composure and calm. After the game, the cricketer stated that this was his second-best career knock. Doesn’t it speak volumes?
Losing skipper Babar Azam said:
In the end, we decided to bowl our best bowlers. That’s why I decided to bowl Shaheen and then we believed in Zaman Khan for the final over. SL played really well, they played better cricket than us, that’s why they won. We weren’t up to the mark with our bowling and fielding, that’s why we lost. (One major factor that could have been different) In the middle overs, we are not bowling well. That partnership (between Mendis and Samarawickrama) cost us. We are starting well, we are finishing well, but we are not taking wickets in the middle overs.
Winning skipper Dasun Shanaka said
We had the game under control, but the losing of wickets took it till the last over. We gave them a chance to come back in the game, but we knew Charith could get us home. We had a discussion before batting and we discussed the mistakes we made in the India game. We gave away wickets in the first 10 overs, and Kusal and Sadeera played brilliant knocks. I think they are the best players of spin in the Sri Lanka squad. And Charith, showed great character. Special feeling, back to back finals. I must thank the crowds who kept supporting us, and looking forward to the finals.
POTM Kusal Mendis said:
Happy with my performance, happy to get to the final. Those two wickets fell down and we were nervous, but with Charith in the middle we had hope. He’s done this in one game against Afghanistan. I think we also bowled really well, so happy to be in the final.
India
