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So we have our finalists locked in but before that, there is one more game to be played in the Super Fours. India and Bangladesh will lock horns at this very venue tomorrow (technically today). Will the Men in Blue continue their unbeaten run or will the Tigers give them a wake-up call while looking to bow out of the tournament on a high themselves? Do join us for our coverage of that contest right here on Sportskeeda while also warming up with the rain dance as we hope those dark clouds stay away. For now though, off to catch our breath and a good night's sleep after all that madness is my good friend Pragadeesh and I (Sooryanarayanan). We simply loved bringing the action from this contest to you and we can't thank you enough for joining us. See you in about twelve hours from now - good night and take care!
Oh my giddy aunt! If this is a trailer of what is to come at the World Cup next month, then we better brace ourselves with the heart of a lion. My word, what a sport though! What a crazy, mental sport! And what a beautiful format ODI cricket is! Do we want more of these? Oh we most certainly do!
Sri Lanka, with resilience, character and nerves of steel, have scripted a fairytale run into the final of the Asia Cup 2023. Awaiting them on Sunday are India, who got the better of the hosts a couple of days ago but will know that they will have to be at their absolute best to pull off an encore. As for Pakistan, it's a case of what could have been. So near, yet so far for Babar Azam and Co. and ahead of that World Cup, they will certainly be hurting having been touted as one of the favorites to emerge triumphant in the continental event preceding it. And for all of you eagerly anticipating an India-Pakistan final, that wait lingers on. But hey, India-Sri Lanka is just as good in front of one of the best crowds this sport can see in Colombo, isn't it?
Kusal Mendis is the Player of the Match for his stellar 87-ball 91. Here's what he has to say: I'm happy to have won the game for my team and to come to the final. We lost wickets before the last over but with Charith in the middle there was hope that he would finish the game. Sadeera batted really well. I think we've done really well today and the bowlers also did really well. I'm so happy we've come to the final. Wanindu (Hasaranga), Dushmantha (Chameera) and Lahiru Kumara are our main bowlers. Hopefully they will come for the World Cup. But we have Dunith Wellalage bowling well and Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana doing well (goes on to thank the fans for their support in Sinhalese).
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka captain): We had the game under our control but the loss of wickets, especially mine and Dhananjaya de Silva's, I think we could have stayed until the last over. Pakistan came back strongly but Charith held his nerve again. We had a discussion before going out to bat. The coaching staff spoke about the mistakes done in the India game. We gave wickets in the first ten overs and today we didn't want to do it again. We have learnt from our mistakes and it was a brilliant knock from Kusal Mendis. Sadeera Samarawickrama - I think they (him and Mendis) are the best players of spin in Sri Lanka. And of course Charith. It's an amazing feeling - back-to-back finals so it's special for me and the whole of Sri Lanka. I must thank the crowd for supporting us. Looking forward to the final as well.
Babar Azam (Pakistan Captian) - 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. In the middle overs, we are not bowling well. 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
Charith Asalanka: I just thought how can I hit it in the gap in those vacant areas as it is a big field. I told Madushan to run very hard. Two things in my mind - First I thought he is gonna bowl a bouncer or a yorker. But he bowled a slow delivery and it's worked on my side. Mendis and Sadeera played well and set the platform. I was very clear about what to do as this was my role. Definitely, I rank this as my second-best knock in my book
Match Summary: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 2 wickets (DLS) to qualify for the final of Asia Cup 2023.
Kusal Mendis 91 (87) | Matheesha Pathirana 3/65 (8) Mohammad Rizwan 86* (73) | Iftikhar Ahmed 3/50 (8)
It's well past 1 AM in the morning. The players ought to have been back in their hotel rooms wrapping up dinner and possibly tucking in for the night after a long day's work. It might have been much the case with us too. But I guess good things do come with rain delays as well, eh? This was not good - this was a humdinger. An absolute cracker if there ever was one for a virtual semifinal!
Sri Lanka were tasked with chasing exactly what Pakistan put up in their 42 overs on the back of the DLS rule coming into force. The way Kusal Perera teed off, it seemed clear that they were going to go hard in a bid to keep up with the asking rate and never let it get out of hand. Pathum Nissanka swayed between extremes as he failed to rotate strike on a regular basis but once Perera was run out, it seemed as though Sri Lanka's major ray of hope in terms of taking the attack to the bowlers was out of the way and Pakistan were right in front. Little did we know though...
If one Kusal doesn't get you, the other will. Mendis it was, as he carried on his magnificent run of form with another chanceless innings as he just nudged the ball around off the good deliveries and pasted the wretched ones out of sight. Pakistan's seamers lacked the incision they needed to make those early breakthroughs and Babar Azam clearly felt the absence of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah with Shaheen Afridi also not quite at his best early. There was some grip on offer for the spinners and while Mohammad Nawaz sent down an immaculate spell, Shadab Khan looked woeful yet again despite accounting for the wicket of Nissanka.
Post Nissanka's departure, it was a masterful partnership that illustrated the art of constructing an ODI chase which Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama put up. Comfortable strike rotation, very minimal dot deliveries, risk-free cricket and ensuring they were always on par with the eight-ball - name it and it was the hallmark of that partnership. Samarawickrama took a nasty blow to the helmet off a Shaheen bouncer and while he didn't look affected by it, he couldn't avoid a third dismissal in the form of a stumping for the tournament as he walked past a straight one from Iftikhar Ahmed. Charith Asalanka took over seamlessly though and it seemed as though this was going to be a cruise for Sri Lanka.
But then came a twist once Mendis perished to a stunning Mohammad Haris catch. Mind you, Pakistan slacked considerably on the park despite the odd moment of brilliance but Sri Lanka found a way to make a meal of this under pressure. Iftikhar was amongst the wickets as he found a way to justify Babar's decision to persist with him before Shaheen returned to turn in a death-overs masterclass. Asalanka was hard to stop as he continued to tick along, finding the odd boundary at will but a four-run penultimate over from Shaheen that saw him nab the wickets of Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage took the game into the last.
Zaman Khan was tasked with emerging as the hero on ODI debut. He bowled valiantly and aimed for the yorker and with every delivery, the equation got tougher for Sri Lanka. Pramod Madushan displayed outstanding presence of mind to wait for Asalanka to cross over before he took off and sacrificed his wicket and with six runs needed off the last two deliveries, a streaky boundary and a neat clip through square leg saw the latter send the Premadasa crowd, which was buzzing for as long as we can possibly imagine, into sheer euphoria. Phew - that was some theater wasn't it?
BEDLAM AT THE PREMADASA! ASALANKA IS THE MAN FOR SRI LANKA! Ecstasy of the highest order for the hosts, agony for Pakistan! Smiles on the faces of the team members and sheer euphoria in the stands. A game that had no business going down to the last ball but my goodness what have we just witnessed? Sri Lanka set up a date with India for the final of the Asia Cup.
42
overs
252/8score
1lb
0
1
W
4
2
runs
Charith Asalanka*
49(47)
Matheesha Pathirana
0(0)
Zaman Khan
0/39
41.6 Zaman Khan to Charith Asalanka, SRI LANKA WIN AND REACH THE ASIA CUP FINAL FOR THE 11TH TIME! Unforgettable scenes as the Sri Lanka players in the dugout charge to the middle in joy to congratulate the man of the moment, Asalanka. Zaman sticks to the off-pace delivery and the line is on off-stump, Asalanka shuffles across and flicks this to the vacant deep square leg region. The crowd goes wild and so are the Sri Lankan players. The wait continues for an India-Pakistan Asia Cup final as Babar's men are knocked out of the tournament!
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R.Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, Colombo
Charith Asalanka
*
Zaman Khan
Video
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