Before their meet-up in the Asia Cup 2022 final, Pakistan and Sri Lanka squared off against each other in the last Super 4 tie on Friday in Dubai. The game was moreover a rehearsal for Sunday’s decisive clash in which the island nation rang the alarm bells for the men in green. The Lankans won it by 5 wickets, ending the Super 4 stage as table-toppers with no defeats at all.
After opting to bowl, Dasun Shanaka and his boys folded Pakistan to a paltry 121 in 19.1 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka had a troubled start as they lost Kisal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka for ducks. But a 48-ball 55 by Pathum Nisanka and cameos from Bhanuka Rajapaksa (24) and Shanaka (21) helped the team finish the chase with 18 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, a bizarre incident caught viewers’ attention where Babar Azam was seen reminding the on-field umpire that he’s the captain of the team.
On the first delivery of the 16th over, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan made a strong appeal
On the first delivery of the over, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan appealed strongly for a caught-behind as Hasan Ali beat Nissanka’s outside edge with a short ball. However, the umpire ruled it not out.
As Babar walked closer to the pitch if there was an edge, the umpire went upstairs for a review despite the Pakistan skipper not calling for it. The former was impressed with it and was seen mouthing, “Main kaptaan hu (I’m the captain)” towards the umpire.
— cricket fan (@cricketfanvideo) September 9, 2022
Eventually, Pakistan lost the review as there was a huge gap between the bat and the ball.
The pair of Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa countered the Pakistan spinner efficiently during middle overs and stitched a 51-run stand for the 4th wicket. Rajapaksa, who hit a couple of delightful sixes against Usman Qadir eventually found the fielder while trying to launch another one over mid-wicket, getting out after a breezy 24.
From there on, Sri Lanka needed 42 from 51 balls and Nissanka carried his impressive outing with the bat to complete his half-century and take his team closer to victory. He got fine support in skipper Dasun Shanaka, who added some momentum to the Sri Lanka innings, making a quickfire 16-ball 21 before falling with Sri Lanka needing less than 10 runs to win.
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