"TV tootne start ho gaye hoge" - Top 10 funny memes as Pakistan are knocked out of Asia Cup after a loss against Sri Lanka in a cliffhanger
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by two wickets in the Super 4 match of Asia Cup 2023 at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Pakistan have been eliminated from the tournament following the loss and Sri Lanka have advanced to the final.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first in the contest earlier in the evening. The match began after a rain delay, which forced the match officials to make it a 45-over affair.
Fakhar Zaman's poor run of form continued as he got out cheaply for 4 (11) in the 4th over. Babar Azam (29) and Abdullah Shafique (52) tried to stabilize things for a while with a 64-run partnership. After Babar's departure in the 16th over, Men in Green lost a couple of quick wickets and found themselves in a troubling situation with 130/5 on the scoreboard after 27.4 overs.
Rain again halted the proceedings after a while. As a result, it got reduced to a 42-over-per-side contest.
Mohammad Rizwan (86* in 73 balls) and Iftikhar Ahmed (47) played exceptionally after the rain break and rescued Pakistan with their 108-run partnership for the sixth wicket. They played aggressively and injected much-needed momentum into the innings. Rizwan then finished the innings in style with a four and took his side to 252/7 in 42 overs.
Kusal Mendis (91) anchored the chase well with a responsible knock to set up a great platform for Sri Lanka. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shaheen Afridi brought their side back into the contest in the final few overs with a couple of quick wickets. Charith Asalanka (49*) held his nerves and finished the job for Sri Lanka in the end.
Fans enjoyed the thrilling encounter and expressed their reactions through memes on social media platforms. Here are some of the best ones:
We are not bowling well in the middle overs: Pakistan captain Babar Azam
At the post-match presentation, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam reflected on the loss and said:
"We decided to bowl our best bowlers - Shaheen to bowl the second last over and Zaman to bowl the final but things didn't go in our way. Sri Lanka played better cricket and we haven't been up to the mark in our bowling. We are not bowling well in the middle overs. The partnership cost us. We are starting well and finishing well but in the middle overs, we are not up to the mark. That's why we couldn't win today."