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Sri Lanka secured their place in the Asia Cup final by defeating Pakistan by two wickets through the DLS method in a super four match held in Colombo on Thursday. Despite rain reducing the contest to 42 overs per side, Mohammad Rizwan (86 not out) and Iftikhar Ahmed (47) orchestrated a strong innings, propelling Pakistan to a formidable 252 for 7. However, Kusal Mendis (91) led a heroic batting effort alongside Charith Asalanka (49 not out) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (48), allowing Sri Lanka to successfully chase down the target within the allotted 42 overs.
Sri Lanka is now poised to face India in the final, scheduled for Sunday.
Mendis-Samarawickrama made century partnership:
Following the dismissal of Pathum Nissanka, who had scored 77 runs, Kusal Mendis and Sadira Samarawickrama took charge of the innings. Together, they elevated the team’s total beyond the 100-run mark, with Mendis achieving his half-century and the team’s score surpassing 150 runs. A century partnership between the two was formed during the 30th over. However, in that very over, Samarawickrama was dismissed after contributing 48 runs, bringing an end to their 100-run partnership, which was forged over 98 balls.
Kusal Mendis was the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s victory in this crucial match. Sri Lanka faced the task of chasing down 253 runs in 42 overs, and Mendis delivered a remarkable and match-winning performance. He faced 87 balls, accumulating a total of 91 runs, which included 8 fours and 1 six. Although he eventually got out, his contribution was pivotal. In addition to Mendis, Sadira Samarawickrama played a significant role by adding 48 runs to the team’s total. The final push toward victory was provided by Charith Asalanka, who contributed 49 runs and stood firm until the very last ball. Among the Pakistani bowlers, Iftikhar Ahmed secured 3 wickets, while Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan claimed 2 and 1 wicket(s) respectively.
Kusal Mendis ,Player of the Match: 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.
Dasun Shanaka: We had the game under control, but the loss 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.
Babar Azam: In the end, we decided to bowl our best bowlers. That’s why I decided to bowl Shaheen the second last over 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.
