Sri Lanka, which has a history of defeating heavyweights despite internal issues, is ready to surprise Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on Sunday. Political upheaval forced the island nation to abandon its preparations to host the Twenty20 competition, and they lost their opening match to Afghanistan by eight wickets with little under ten overs left. The tournament favorites India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan were all defeated by the five-time champions after they had fallen behind. This prevented Rohit Sharma’s team from facing Pakistan, one of their longtime rivals, in the championship game.
The final Super Four game on Friday served as a warm-up for the Dubai final. And despite Pakistan missing two of its best players, Sri Lanka won for the fourth match in a row.
So after helping them defeat Pakistan by five wickets on Friday by bowling them out for 121, they will rely on the spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana on Sunday.
Pathum Nissanka began with an undefeated 55 in a stunning performance, leading the batting onslaught. Dasun Shanaka, the team’s captain, cautioned them against becoming comfortable.
Despite having won four straight games, Shanaka assured reporters, “We still don’t take Pakistan lightly in the final.
We should be prepared for that given that they have a very talented team with enough powerful players to mount a spectacular comeback.
They recently hosted Pakistan for two Test matches. In Galle, despite a challenging economic crisis and political upheaval, Sri Lanka played wonderfully.
After dreadful months of blackouts, fuel shortages, and protests, Shanaka stated that his team had received “messages of love and support” and that their Asia Cup success had brought joy home.
It’s wonderful that we are succeeding and assisting people, he remarked.
A third of Pakistan is currently under monsoon flood waters, which is causing its own problems.
So Babar Azam, the team’s captain, had a terrible tournament batting average of just 30. With 226 runs in five games, Mohammad Rizwan is the only player who consistently performs well.
Despite Azam’s “unlucky” run, coach Saqlain Mushtaq says he had great faith in his players to perform.
“We pursued and batted beautifully in the most recent game against India,” he stated.
We are confident because things are progressing as they should.
Even while it’s possible that Pakistan’s most recent defeat over Sri Lanka has stopped their upward trend. Saqlain assured the crowd that the team would learn from Friday’s game.
Saqlain stated, “I’ll discuss problems in the locker room. However, Sri Lanka and Pakistan will both come into the championship game with confidence and vigor, respectively.
Best betting sites in India
SATBET
MYWIN11
SATSPORT
SKY EXCHANGE
SSEXCH
SAT EXCHANGE