Watch: 6 Needed From 2, Sri Lanka Pull Of A Thriller Against Pakistan To Enter Asia Cup Final

15.09.2023 - 03:53 sports.ndtv.com

One of the finest cricketing contests of the Asia Cup 2023 unfolded on Thrusday day as Sri Lanka edged Pakistan in a last-ball thriller to enter the final of the tournament.

It was Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis produced an outstanding 91 while Charith Asalanka gave him good company with a gutsy unbeaten 49 to set up the final against India.

Pakistan looked to have done well to pull themsleves in the winning position after Shaheen Afridi's spectacular penultimate over.

but, Sri Lanka reached the target of 252 runs, scoring 6 runs from the last 2 balls. Half-centuries from Abdullah Shafique (52) and Mohammad Rizwan (86 not out) had led Pakistan to a competitive 252 for 7 off 42 overs after electing to bat on another rain-affected day.

cricket Sri Lanka Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Asia Cup 2023 cup watch Shaheen Afridi Charith Asalanka India Sri Lanka Pakistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday held a review meeting of their woeful Asia Cup show in the wake of their World Cup squad announcement. All teams must finalise their 15-player squads for the cricket showpiece before the September 28 deadline, with any replacements after this date requiring approval from the ICC. "The philosophy behind this review was to create an atmosphere of open discussion and develop consensus," PCB chairman of the management committee Zaka Ashraf said in a statement. "The idea is to have everyone on board and debate about performances, identifying the problems and their solutions.” The review meeting was also attended by head coach Mickey Arthur, captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan and former skippers Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez.

After Asia Cup Debacle, Pakistan To Get New Vice-captain Ahead Of Cricket World Cup. Report Names The Star

The Pakistan cricket team had a disappointing run in the Asia Cup 2023 as they were eliminated after losing to India and Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage of the competition. Some star players were not able to perform well for the national side and according to a report on Geo.tv, star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is all set to replace Shadab Khan as the team's vice-captain for Cricket World Cup 2023. The report further claimed that Pakistan's World Cup squad can look like this - Babar Azam (c), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdulla Shafiq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, Zaman Khan.

War Of Words Between Babar Azam And Shaheen Afridi After Pakistan's Asia Cup 2023 Exit: Report

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team, despite a good start to the Asia Cup 2023, could not keep up the momentum and were knocked out of the Super 4 stage. The Pakistan team were pegged back by injuries of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah too. Though they fought till the end, Pakistan could not go over the line as victors in a well-contested match against Sri Lanka, and were shown the door. The loss to Sri Lanka would rankle the team for a long time as it was one of the biggest tournament ahead of the Cricket World Cup in India.

Pakistan Star Zaman Khan's Heartbreaking Social Media Post After Team's Asia Cup Elimination

Pakistan pacer Zaman Khan was tasked with the responsibility of guiding his team to the Asia Cup final as Sri Lanka needed 8 runs to win the match in the final over of the Super 4 match on Thursday. Zaman, who came into the team after an injury to Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, did very well in the first four deliveries, giving away just two runs. But, he went on to concede 6 runs in the last two deliveries, as Charith Asalanka took the islanders into the final of the tournament.

"Kabhi Pakistan, India Ka Final Ho Nahi Sakta": Shoaib Akhtar Akhtar On Asia Cup Title-Decider

The Pakistan cricket team's hopes of qualifying for the Asia Cup 2023 final of the tournament were shattered as Sri Lanka emerged triumphant in the virtual semi-final match on Thursday. Pakistan were hopeful of securing a date with India in the title-decider but Charith Asalanka kept his nerves under control in the last moments to guide Sri Lanka to victory. Seeing Babar Azam's men being eliminated from the tournament, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar rued the fact that an opportunity for a first-ever Indo-Pak final in the Asia Cup was lost.

Asia Cup: Sri Lanka to face India in final after last-ball win over Pakistan

Sri Lanka sealed a thrilling last-ball win over Pakistan in Colombo on Thursday to set up a title match with India in the Asia Cup.