SL vs PAK, Innings Highlights: Riding on half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan (86 off 72) and Abdullah Shafique (52 off 69), Pakistan managed to post 252/7 runs in a rain-curtailed high-stakes Asia Cup 2023 fixture at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Iftikhar Ahmed also scored 47 off 40. While Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first in what was initially a 45-over contest, rain came midway through their innings at the 27.4 over mark, after which the match was further reduced to 42 overs per side.
It is pertinent to note that this is a must win game as the fixture happens to be a virtual Asia Cup 2023 semifinal. The winner of this contest will join India in the final at the same venue on September 17. While Rohit Sharma & Co. have sealed the final berth with two out of two wins, Bangladesh have also been knocked out of the competition.
As far as Sri Lanka are concerned, Matheesha Pathirana was the pick of the bowlers for the home team and he finished with figures of 3 for 65. On the other hand, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage scalped a wicket each. In case, the match gets abandoned due to rain, both teams will be awarded a point each which would be an unfavourable outcome for Pakistan since that would mean Sri Lanka will proceed to the summit clash, courtesy of a better net run rate (NRR).
Pakistan were forced to make changes aplenty to their Playing XIs due to injury concerns including a last-minute injury to Imam-ul Haq.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Haris, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Zaman Khan
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wicktkeeper), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana