Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field first against Sri Lanka as they chase for their third Asia Cup trophy on Sunday. Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan returned to the side that lost to the island nation in last ‘Super 4’ clash of the tournament, which acts as a precursor to the hotly-anticipated World T20 in Australia next month. Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Live Score, Asia Cup 2022 Final
For Pakistan, Shadab and Naseem came in place of Usman Qadir and Hasan Ali respectively, while Sri Lanka fielded an unchanged team from the previous game at the same venue in Dubai. Winning the toss and bowling first worked in Pakistan’s favour, as Naseem clean bowled Kusal Mendis (0) early with a vicious in-swinger. Haris Rauf inflicted further damage with two wickets in the powerplay. He removed Pathum Nissanka (8) and went through the defence of Danushka Gunathilaka, who perished for just 1.
Rauf almost had his third wicket in his first two overs as the ball struck Bhanuka Rajapaksa on the pads. Pakistan reviewed the LBW decision but it stood umpire’s call of not out due to the impact. Cameras immediately captured Shadab forcefully trying to raise the umpire’s finger as the two shared a laugh. The video of the incident went viral in no time.
Here’s the video:
Sri Lanka slumped further with Dhananjaya de Silva (28) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (2) falling to Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab, respectively. The island nation reached 67/5 after the first 10 overs.
Sri Lanka won four successive matches chasing but have to set a target after losing the toss in final game. They have won the Asia Cup five times. “We would’ve bowled as well, but happy to bat first since it is the final,” said Shanaka.
“We’ve been playing some good cricket. Want to continue that. The biggest positive has been that the batsmen have stood up, especially the openers. (Dilshan) Madushanka and Maheesh (Theekshana) have been great too, good cricket before the World Cup. The record has been good for us in the final and we are looking forward to another championship.”
“Our confidence level is high. As a team you want to reach the final and win it,” Babar said at the toss in Dubai. “As a team, we have played very well. Every match we’ve had a new man of the match, everyone has stepped up.”
Pakistan entered the ‘Super 4’ phase after a loss to India and a win against Hong Kong. In the next round, they won against India and Afghanistan but lost the final clash of ‘Super 4’ against Sri Lanka.
