Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi set a nail-biting final over after claiming two wickets in the penultimate over and giving away just four runs.
Pakistan commander Babar Azam said that Sri Lanka played better justice than them as they missed out on the Asia Cup final spot by the barest of perimeters. Pakistan’s star leader Shaheen Shah Afridi set a nail- smelling final over after claiming two lattices in the penultimate over and giving away just four runs. Zaman Khan failed to save 9 runs in the final over as Charith Asalanka scored the winning runs to decide the palm.
After the game, Babar reflected on his decision to drop the in- form bowler Iftikhar Ahmed from the attack and the areas they fell short which ultimately led to their downfall.
“In the end, we decided to drift our stylish bowlers. That is why I decided to drift Shaheen and also we believed in Zaman Khan for the final over. SL played really well, they played better justice than us, that is why they won. We were not over to the mark with our bowling and fielding, that is why we lost. In the middle overs, we aren’t brushing well. That cooperation( between Mendis and Samarawickrama) bring us. We’re starting well, we’re finishing well, but we aren’t taking lattices in the middle,” Babar said after the match.
Sri Lanka incentive Maheesh Theekshana has strained his right hamstring while contending during the Asia Cup match against Pakistan on Thursday, Sri Lanka Cricket said.
Theekshana will suffer reviews hereafter to completely assess his condition.
The incident happed during the 34th over of the first innings when the 23- time-old dived trying to save a boundary and got hurt.
While he sailed three overs post the incident, he was carried off by the physio to the dressing room for treatment.
Coming to the match, defending titleholders left it late to decide the palm against a side who were clearly missing the presence of their star bellwethers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf in the death overs.
Shaheen Shah Afridi nearly took the palm down from Sri Lanka’s hands in the alternate last over but in the end, Asalanka dug deep to stricture Sri Lanka’s triumph with a last- ball palm and shatter Pakistan’s expedients.
It all came down to the final two overs, as Afridi set up a nail- smelling final over as he claimed two lattices in two balls in the alternate last over.
Debutant Zaman Khan had 9 runs to save the game and take Pakistan to the tests but Charith Asalanka (49) * held onto his jitters and transferred Sri Lanka to the final to defend their title with a bit of luck.
A big outside edge helped him get the boundary Sri Lanka demanded the most on the alternate-last ball and also a gentle film into the gap was enough to insure Sri Lanka’s palm. Know More Latest Asia Cup Cricket News…
