India close to Asia Cup exit after Sri Lanka defeat

06.09.2022 - 22:31 arabnews.com

DUBAI: Sri Lanka produced an impressive run chase to down India by six wickets on Tuesday and leave their opponents staring at an early exit from the Asia Cup.

If Pakistan beat Afghanistan on Wednesday, they will face Sri Lanka in Sunday’s final and knock out arch rivals India in the process.

Half-centuries from openers Pathum Nissanka (52) and Kusal Mendis (57) gave Sri Lanka the perfect start to their chase of 174 in the Super Four game.

India hit back with a flurry of wickets, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa and captain Dasun Shanaka helped Sri Lanka get over the line, with two scrambled byes off the penultimate ball completing the job.

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Pakistan chief selector Muhammad Wasim defended the squad picked for the 2022 T20 World Cup citing their performances against India in the Asia Cup, as well as the T20 World Cup last year. While Pakistan registered their first ever World Cup win over India in last year's competition, they suffered a narrow defeat to their arch-rivals in the Asia Cup before going on to beat them a week later on their way to the final. Wasim, speaking at a press conference after Pakistan's squad announcement, said the wins showed the team could take on big opponents and come out on top.

Asia Cup 2022: Victorious Sri Lankan Cricket Team To Celebrate Title Win With Double-Decker Ride

Members of Sri Lanka's victorious Asia Cup team will travel through Colombo on a double-decker bus and interact with delirious fans to toast their success over Pakistan, officials said on Monday. Sri Lanka crushed Pakistan by 23 runs to win their sixth Asia Cup title in Dubai on Sunday, bringing much cheer to the people of the crisis-hit island nation, who have been hit hard by the worst economic turmoil in several decades. The Dasun Shanaka-led team will arrive on Tuesday morning at 5 am, and will be welcomed by officials from Sri Lanka Cricket and the Sports Ministry at the Bandaranaike International Airport here, officials said.

Pakistan Coach Saqlain Mushtaq Defends Team's T20 Style After Asia Cup Final Defeat

Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq defended his team's Twenty20 playing style after losing Sunday's Asia Cup final, saying they were on the right track for next month's T20 World Cup. Babar Azam's side failed to chase 171 to beat Sri Lanka, their 23-run defeat bucking the trend of teams winning while batting second in Dubai. Mohammad Rizwan made 55 in 49 balls for Pakistan and finished as the tournament's leading scorer with 281 runs in six innings.

Sri Lanka surprise, Virat Kohli comeback: Five Asia Cup talking points

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 23 runs in Dubai on Sunday to clinch their sixth Asia Cup. AFP Sport looks at five things we learned from the six-nation tournament, which was a precursor for next month's T20 World Cup in Australia. Pundits gave Sri Lanka little chance of making the Super Four after an embarrassingly one-sided opening defeat against Afghanistan, but five successive wins took them to Asia Cup glory. Sri Lanka beat favourites India in the Super Four and then got past Pakistan twice to give the young team confidence going into the T20 World Cup in Australia, where they will have to progress through a qualifying round. But Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who hit an unbeaten 71 in the final, said he believed a rejuvenated Sri Lanka could ride the momentum of their Asia Cup triumph and go all the way in the T20 showpiece.

Watch: Pakistan Players' Funny Celebration After Almost Messing Up A Catch In Asia Cup Match vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by five wickets in their dress rehearsal for the Asia Cup final. After rolling over Pakistan for a total sub-par total of 121, Sri Lanka chased down the target with three overs to spare. During the 17th over of the chase, Pakistan players Hasan Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed almost had a collision while attempting a catch. In the second delivery of the seventeenth over, Mohammad Hasnain dished out an off-cutter to Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka who hit it straight to long-on.

India face heat for 'chopping and changing' after Asia Cup failure

Rohit Sharma's India have been slammed for "chopping and changing" as they failed to make the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament with a game to go. Pakistan's win over Afghanistan on Wednesday knocked out India from the tournament, which was a warm-up for next month's T20 World Cup. India, who won the previous Asia Cup in 2018 played in a 50-over format, came in as pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two Super Four matches to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.