The Asia Cup Final will take place on Sunday, and despite the difficulties they have been experiencing at home, Sri Lanka are in a position to pull off an unusual upset and win the Asia Cup by defeating the tournament’s favourites, Pakistan.
After a run of giant-killing victories throughout the tournament despite difficulties at home, Sri Lanka is in a position to pull off an improbable triumph over tournament favourites Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup on Sunday. Due to political upheaval, the island nation was forced to abandon preparations to host the Twenty20 competition. 4
The island nation also failed to perform well in their opening match, losing to Afghanistan by eight wickets with nearly ten overs left to play. However, the five-time champions came back to win against Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the tournament favourites, India. This resulted in the elimination of the highly anticipated finals match between Rohit Sharma’s men and Pakistan’s other team, their rivals.
The concluding Super Four match took place on Friday and served as a dress rehearsal for the Dubai final. Sri Lanka won the match for the fourth consecutive time, despite the fact that Pakistan was missing two of their important players.
On Sunday, they will rely on the spin bowling duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, who were instrumental in bowling Pakistan out for 121 runs on Friday during a win by five wickets.
Pathum Nissanka, the opener, led the batting assault with an undefeated 55 in a clinical performance; but, Dasun Shanaka, the captain, advised his team against becoming complacent.
Shanaka said to the reporters, “The confidence we have is tremendous after four consecutive wins, but we still don’t take Pakistan lightly in the final.” This statement was made despite the fact that the Sri Lankan team had won four matches in a row.
“We are aware that they have a very good team with enough good players in it to come back strong, and we ought to be prepared for that,”
In their most recent home series against Pakistan, which consisted of two Tests and was played in Galle against the backdrop of a terrible economic crisis and political instability, Sri Lanka performed admirably.
Shanaka stated that his team had been inundated with “messages of love and support,” and that the triumph of his team at the Asia Cup had brought cheer back home after several difficult months marked by blackouts, fuel shortages, and protests.
He remarked that it was “so good that we are winning and giving something back to them.”
– An abundance of self-assurance and ardour –
Floods caused by the monsoon season have affected a third of Pakistan’s territory, and the nation is currently dealing with the aftermath of these natural disasters.
However, the team has excelled throughout the competition, which is a warm-up for the Twenty20 World Cup that will be held in Australia in the following month. They have avenged an opening game loss to India and won a last-over thriller against Afghanistan.
Both the fast bowler Naseem Shah and the all-rounder Shadab Khan were unavailable for play on Friday’s match, but their presence in the final will make the chances more favourable for Sri Lanka.
Naseem, who is only 19 years old, has maintained Pakistan’s lead in the bowling attack despite the absence of speed spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was unable to participate in the competition due to injury.
In a nail-biting victory over Afghanistan by one wicket, which sealed India’s elimination from the competition, he also struck two sixes.
Batting is still a matter for concern for the team, as skipper Babar Azam only managed a best score of 30 during the competition. Mohammad Rizwan is the only performer who has been consistent in all five matches, scoring 226 runs.
Despite Azam’s “unlucky” run, though, the coach Saqlain Mushtaq stated he has great faith in his team to come through with the goods.
“In the most recent match we won against India, both our chasing and batting performances were strong,” he remarked.
We feel optimistic about the future since things are heading in the right direction.
Saqlain remarked that the team will pay attention to the lessons that were learned during Friday’s play, despite the fact that Pakistan’s most recent defeat came at the hands of Sri Lanka.
“I will talk about mistakes that were made in the dressing room,” Saqlain said, “but Sri Lanka will take confidence into the final, and Pakistan will take some learnings and passion.”
