Kusal Mendis’ 91 and an unbeaten 49 by Charith Asalanka helped Sri Lanka edge out Pakistan by two wickets in a last-ball thriller at the 2023 Asia Cup to set up a final clash with India.
Chasing a DLS revised target of 252 in the 42-overs-a-side contest in Colombo, Sri Lanka needed eight from the final over and achieved the target with Asalanka’s winning hit on the last ball more than a hour past midnight.
A raucous home crowd rejoiced but the result broke the heart of millions of fans awaiting an India-Pakistan final in the 50-over tournament, a prelude to the upcoming ODI World Cup.
The left-handed Asalanka held his nerve despite Shaheen Shah Afridi’s two wickets in two balls in the penultimate over and the first four balls from Zaman Khan giving away just two runs and a wicket in the final over.
Mendis set up victory with a 100-run third-wicket stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama, who made 48, but Asalanka took it on himself after their departure.
Off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed took three key wickets including Mendis and Samarawickrama to keep the game in the balance till the last.
Earlier Mohammad Rizwan hit an unbeaten 86 to steer Pakistan to 252-7 after they elected to bat first in the rain delayed start to the match.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers took regular early wickets to check Pakistan’s scoring, but Rizwan hit back with his 12th ODI half-century and a 108-run stand with Iftikhar, who made 47.
Fast bowler Pramod Madushan struck first as he bowled Fakhar Zaman for four with a yorker that raised the decibels in the ground.
Abdullah Shafique (52) and skipper Babar Azam (29) then rebuilt the innings in their stand of 63 despite surviving a few close calls including an lbw review off Dunith Wellalage.
Azam looked to be getting into his groove with a few boundaries but was stumped off Wellalage, a left-arm spinner who was Sri Lanka’s star in their previous loss to India with 5-40.
Shafique stood strong and hit two sixes en route to his maiden ODI fifty but soon fell to fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana, who quickly struck again.
Pakistan returned from a rain break on 130-5 with Rizwan digging deep and he got support from Iftikhar, who took his time to get his rhythm and hit two sixes in his 40-ball knock.
Pathirana sent back Iftikhar for his third wicket and Madushan took one more scalp of his own late on, but Rizwan remained unbeaten and finished with a boundary.
#AsiaCup2023 #PAKvSL
— The Field (@thefield_in) September 14, 2023
Charith Asalanka...TAKE A BOW!
The 26-year-old calmly flicks debutant Zaman Khan to take Sri Lanka through to the 2023 Asia Cup Final.
It will be India v/s Sri Lanka for the title on Sunday.
PAK: 252/7 (42)
SL: 252/8 (42) via DLS
📸: Hotstar… pic.twitter.com/DQwcNib2nb
Shouldn't Zaman Khan have been alert to the possibility of a run-out ar the bowler's end? Pathirana was outside the crease.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 14, 2023
What a thrilling victory!
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) September 14, 2023
Sri Lanka secures a spot in the #AsiaCup2023 finals on Sunday with a thrilling 2-wicket win over Pakistan!#AsiaCup2023 #SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/lJF3CCNjPK
I hope Charith Asalanka gets as much love from his teammates as he forces on them 😂 Another clutch knock! #AsiaCup2023
— Estelle Vasudevan (@Estelle_Vasude1) September 14, 2023
How crucial that one run has turned out to be! Had Pakistan not lost Nawaz's wicket before the rain break, Sri Lanka's target was gonna be 255. It's all hindsight but still a good lowdown on how marginal calls can change the course of the game. https://t.co/86TVopLPv8
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) September 14, 2023
This is Sri Lanka’s first ODI win against Pakistan since 2015. Just found this stat so interesting. #AsiaCup2023
— Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar) September 14, 2023
Congratulations to the Sri Lankan team for reaching their 12th Asia cup final. Fantastic effort. What a game, not for the faint hearted !
— Sanath Jayasuriya (@Sanath07) September 14, 2023
Congratulations Srilanka on the win and great game of cricket. Well fought Pakistan, alot to learn from here #PAKvSL #AsiaCup2023
— Sana Mir ثناء میر (@mir_sana05) September 14, 2023
Congratulations Sri Lanka . What a thrilling match ! #PakvSL
— Azhar Mahmood (@AzharMahmood11) September 14, 2023
Hats off to Zaman Khan - really impressed with his confidence & nerves at such a crucial time.
If we played with the same intensity as the last 5 overs - it would have been a different result. But a good fight at…
There were two possibilities to win this game.
— Javeria Khan (@ImJaveria) September 14, 2023
1. We should have added 20 to 25 more runs knowing our fast bowling is inexperienced in Naseem and Haris absence and we were in position to score those runs.
2. We could have even defended these runs had spinners bowled in the…
What an exceptional Game of Cricket !! ODI cricket at its absolute Best! Congratulations Sri Lanka 🇱🇰👏🏼 Zaman khan tried his best wonderful piece of bowling 👏🏼Hard Luck Pakistan 🇵🇰 #AsiaCup #PAKvsSL
— Saeed Ajmal (@REALsaeedajmal) September 14, 2023
With inputs from AFP