Sri Lanka upset Pakistan by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball match to advance to the 2023 Asia Cup final against India.
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan: Asalanka finished the game for the home team and helped them reach the 252-run mark in the tense contest.
On September 17, the Asia Cup 2023 championship game between Sri Lanka and India will take place in Colombo.
Charith Asalanka batted patiently even though it was up to him to get his team over the finish line in the final few overs. He maintained his composure.
Thanks to Zaman Khan’s genius, the match was briefly in the away team’s favour during the final over; all they had to do was protect six runs in the next two balls.
But the second-to-last ball of the game, which Asalanka got an outside edge on, touched the boundary line.
When Zaman bowled a slower length ball on the pads, Sri Lanka needed two off one. But the left-handed batter remained composed and struck a straightforward drive towards the deep square leg barrier, celebrating as he raced two across the pitch to lead his side to a historic victory.
He discussed his reasoning for the last-ball victory during the post-game ceremony.
“I just encouraged Pathirana to run hard because I was thinking about how I could get two to strike a gap and run hard because it was a big field. I anticipated either a bouncer or a yorker, but instead he bowled a slower ball that went in my favour. Further, I am quite happy. Mendis and Sadeera both batted superbly. I wanted to complete. That is what I do. In my opinion, I can place this inning in second place,” he remarked.
With their batters playing responsible and mature innings, Sri Lanka appeared to be the favourites to reach the target of 252 runs from the outset.
A key 100-run combination between Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama gave their team a commanding advantage.
Mendis was caught after scoring 91 runs. Samarawickrama was caught by Iftikhar Ahmed needing just two more runs to reach his half-century total.
Iftikhar performed admirably for his team both with the bat and the ball, taking three crucial wickets. However, his valor was in vain.
When Pakistan batted first, Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar combined for 252 runs on the scoreboard for their team.
Rizwan played an unbeaten 86 off 73 balls with nine boundaries. Abdullah Shafique, the second-highest scorer for the Green Shirts, achieved his first ODI half-century.
Earlier, Pakistan chose to bat first after winning the toss. Due to rain, the game was first cut to 45 overs and later to 42.