What a way to finish a thrilling cricket match at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by two wickets in the penultimate delivery to go to the 2023 Asia Cup finals.
Batting first, Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan batted well to help Pakistan post 252 runs in 42 overs. Before the ODI World Cup, it is extremely concerning that other batsmen have not stepped up.
When it came to the chase, Sri Lanka got off to a great start and dictated the pace of the contest. Kusal Perera made the ideal opening, but he was unable to capitalize. However, Kusal Mendis maintained his composure and scored 91 runs in 87 deliveries to help Sri Lanka come close to winning. Later, Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama played incredibly well. When two were needed in the final delivery and Shaheen Shah Afridi took back-to-back wickets for Pakistan in the game's penultimate over, Asalanka stayed composed and delivered the victory for his team.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 252-7 in 42 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 86*, Abdullah Shaique 52, Matheesha Pathirana 3-65) lost to Sri Lanka 252-8 in 42 overs (Kusal Mendis 91, Charith Asalanka 49*, Iftikhar Ahmed 3-50) by 2 wickets.