Published: Sep 10, 2022, 01:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 10, 2022, 01:15 PM (IST)
Dubai: Pakistan faced a crushing five-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in the last league game of the Asia Cup. This was Pakistan’s first defeat in the Asia Cup 2022. Wins over India and Afghanistan booked a berth for Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the summit clash and this last league game was a dress rehearsal for the final.
Both teams needed a win to gain a physiological advantage over the other team ahead of the final. However, it was Sri Lanka that won the match with five wickets to spare after the team bundled out Pakistan for a mere 121. Pathum Nissanka led charge of Sri Lanka’s win with his seventh half-century in T20Is.
It was a low scoring game but was not short of drama. Pathum Nissanka was going all guns blazing when Mohammad Rizwan appealed for a caught behind off the bowling of Hasan Ali in the 16th over. Babar walked to the pitch to confirm if it was an edge or not, but before he can consult with his team, the umpire went upstairs for a review. Babar was devastated after the call as he didn’t signal a review and shouted ‘“Main kaptaan hu (I’m the captain)” towards the umpire.
— cricket fan (@cricketfanvideo) September 9, 2022
The DRS was wasted as there was a huge gap between the bat and ball. Nissanka remained unbeaten on 55 as he guided Sri Lanka to a five wicket win. The two teams will now face in the summit clash of the Asia Cup on Sunday.
Pakistan made two changes to the team for this game and rested Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah, both of which are likely to return to the playing 11 on Sunday. Meanwhile, Babar wasn’t too disturbed by the loss in the Super 4 game and praised his players for their fighting spirit.
“We played well in both games, but the batting has not been up to the mark. But surely impressed with our fast bowlers, Pakistan has always produced good pacers – the way Hasan made a comeback today was good,” Babar said in the post-match presentation.
