Asia Cup 2023
‘Kya match tha’- Fans react as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by two wickets to qualify for Asia Cup 2023 final
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by two wickets in the Super 4 match of the Asia Cup and qualified for back-to-back finals. The defending champions were superb in their run-chase. Wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama’s partnership led the second most successful Asia Cup side to the finals. They will again face India on September 17, Sunday.
It was a do-or-die for both the teams. Sri Lanka would have qualified if the match was washed out as they have a better net run rate than Pakistan. The rain played a spoilsport as the match began two hours later than its scheduled time. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first on a gloomy afternoon at the R Premedasa Stadium, Colombo. They made the announcement of their squad prior to the day of the match, making five changes. But before the match started opener Imam-ul-Haq was ruled out due to a back spasm.
Batting first, Babar Azam’s side lost the early wicket of Fakhar Zaman, as the opener departed for just 4 runs. Abdullah Shafique and skipper Babar Azam made a 64-run partnership before the skipper got stumped from a superb Dunith Wellalge delivery. Mohammad Rizwan and Shafique made a decent partnership, after which the opener got out after scoring 52 runs off 69 balls.
Kusal Mendis leads Sri Lanka for back-to-back finals
Pakistan lost two quick wickets after the wicket of Shafique. Then, Rizwan and Ifthikar Ahmed made a 108-run partnership, which led Pakistan to set a good target of 253 runs in a 42-over match. The wicketkeeper was unbeaten at 86 runs and Ifthikar scored 47 runs off 40 balls. Matheesa Pathirana was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka. The 20-year-old pacer picked three wickets.
In reply, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start with opener Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis scoring 62 runs in the powerplay. Both the batters made a 57-run partnership for the second wicket. After that, Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama stitched a beautiful 100-run partnership off 97 balls almost sealing the match against Pakistan.
The 28-year-old batter scored 48 runs off 51 balls and was crucial in building the inning with the wicketkeeper batter. The wicketkeeper batter missed out a hundred 91 runs off 87 balls. After his wicket, Sri Lanka took the game deep but two back-to-back by Shaheen Shah Afridi when 9 runs were needed off 9 balls changed the course of the match. His inning let his team through to the final in a thriller match.
Here’s how fans reacted
Before the start of Asia Cup, Pakistan was making a lot of noise.
Pakistan was arguably the best bowler in the world but he turned out to be injury prone or ineffective.
In the name of spinner, an ordinary bowler like Shadab who could not even bowl like a part-timer in the…— Satya Prakash (@Satya_Prakash08) September 14, 2023
Pakistan losing is my source of happiness. I love seeing their supporters cry. Pakistani Fans' tears are my Daily Medicine,My Weekly Energy,My Monthly Inspiration and My Yearly Motivation.Their loss is the only reason I'm still alive. I was born to love and enjoy that, long may…
— जौली ♡☾ (@blackbindigirl) September 14, 2023
What a game
— Mayank Goel (@indiangalactico) September 14, 2023
Srilanka deserves this..
— Manish Kumar (@manis_misra) September 14, 2023
What an absolute unit of a team! Job very well done 👏
— Mehul (@heymehul) September 14, 2023
What a team yaar
— 🇷 🇦 🇭 🇺 🇱 𒆜ç𝒉ο𝒑𝒓𝐚𒆜 (@i_am_juari) September 14, 2023
Well played Asalanka 🔥🔥
— Deepanshu Thakur (@realdpthakur17) September 14, 2023
Congratulations Srilanka
— GEETROCKKER (@GEETROCKKER) September 14, 2023
