Pakistan stay alive in Asia Cup with five-wicket win over Sri Lanka
Pakistan survived a brilliant spell from Wanindu Hasaranga to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in an intense Asia Cup Super 4 match. Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz held their nerves to guide Pakistan to a crucial win
Abu Dhabi: Pakistan survived a brilliant spell from an enraged spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in an intense Super 4 match and stay alive in the Asia Cup here on Tuesday.
Chasing 134 should not have been difficult, but Pakistan nearly stumbled before recovering to finish at 138 for five.
The conditions were tricky for batting, yet Pakistan’s batters attacked early. Opener Sahibzada Farhan (24) compensated for a clumsy Fakhar Zaman (17 off 19 balls) with strident shots, including a sequence of 6, 6, 4 off pacer Nuwan Thushara.
However, Maheesh Theekshana (2/24) got Farhan in the third ball of the sixth over, and two balls later dismissed Zaman, who had earlier been hit flush on the helmet by Dushmantha Chameera.
Soon Hasaranga (2/27), who took a spectacular ground-level catch at mid-off to dismiss Zaman, took over, removing Saim Ayub and skipper Salman Agha. His delivery that bowled Ayub was a peach, moving just enough to beat the batter’s defence.
On both occasions, Hasaranga mimicked Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed’s hands-on-chest celebration, after Abrar had mocked the Lankan player copying his ‘Neymar’ celebration.
At 80 for five, the match was wide open, with Pakistan needing 54 runs for victory. Defeat would have eliminated them from the tournament.
However, Hussain Talat (32 not out, 30 balls) and Mohammad Nawaz (38 not out, 24 balls) calmly collected the remaining runs, guiding Pakistan to victory with two overs to spare.
Earlier, Pakistan pacers put Sri Lanka’s batters under pressure despite Kamindu Mendis’ fine fifty, restricting them to a below-par 133 for eight.
Sent into bat, Sri Lanka made a poor start, losing in-form Kusal Mendis on the second ball, and an over later Pathum Nissanka, their most consistent batter in the tournament, walked back.
On a night offering seam movement to pacers, Shaheen Shah Afridi (3/28) struck first, inducing an uppish flick from Mendis that ended with Talat taking the catch. Nissanka hit Afridi for a maximum but edged the next ball to wicketkeeper Haris, leaving Sri Lanka at 18 for two.
Skipper Charith Asalanka and Kusal Perera put together a 25-run alliance for the third wicket. Both batters found a six each, but the partnership did not blossom. Perera attempted a chip over the circle off Haris Rauf, only for Faheem Ashraf to take a diving catch.
Sri Lanka ended the power play at 53 for three, but soon lost Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka in successive balls in the eighth over. Talat drew Asalanka into a pull, caught by Rauf, and Shanaka edged Talat to Haris, leaving Sri Lanka at 58 for five.
Mendis (50, 44 balls) tried to salvage the innings, stitching 43 runs for the seventh wicket with Chamika Karunaratne to take Sri Lanka past 100.
