On Thursday, September 14 at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will square off in the sixth Super 4 match of the Asia Cup 2023.
After winning the toss, Pakistani captain Babar Azam decided to bat first. The choice, however, turned out to be incorrect as his team was left reeling at 130/5 after 27.4 overs when rain stopped the opening inning.
When the game began again, it was reduced to 42 overs per side, and Mohammad Rizwan, who was standing in the middle beside Iftikhar Ahmed, made the decision to move quickly. On the opening delivery of the 33rd over by Pramod Madushan, the wicketkeeper-batter struck a brilliant pull shot that startled the crowd.
Rizwan swiftly moved into position and hit the ball over deep mid-wicket for a maximum as soon as it left Madushan’s hands. The fans was on the edge of their seats when the sound of the bat hitting the ball reverberated throughout the stadium due to the shot’s exceptionally beautiful connection.
Check out the video here:
Mohammad Rizwan ki yeh innings bohat players ki bari bari innings pe bhari hay. Mard ka bacha, chaa gaya ❤️ #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/f3KiOn1BiU
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) September 14, 2023
For the sixth wicket, Iftikhar and Rizwan score 108 runs.
Rizwan and Ahmed put on a remarkable 108-run partnership off 78 balls, pushing Pakistan’s total above 230. Ahmed was dismissed after scoring 47 runs off 40 balls, including four fours and two sixes. But Rizwan kept playing at the other end, scoring a brilliant 86* off 73 balls while blasting six fours and two sixes. They made significant contributions that allowed Pakistan to achieve a respectable total of 252/7 in the allocated 42 overs.
After losing his opening partner Fakhar Zaman (4 off 11) early in the innings, Abdullah Shafique went on to score a magnificent fifty (52 off 69) earlier in the game. The winning bowler for Sri Lanka was Matheesha Pathirana, who finished with statistics of 3/65 in eight overs. Pramod Madushan (2/58, 7 overs) also claimed two wickets. Babar Azam (29 off 35), who was bowled by Dunith Wellalage during an efficient stint of 1/40 in nine overs, was the coveted victim.
View the video here: