New Delhi. Talking about Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan’s path to reach the final has become difficult. It will not be easy for the injury-hit Babar Azam-led team to overcome Sri Lanka to make it to the finals. Sri Lanka gave a tough competition to Team India in the Super-4 match. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have 2-2 points after 2-2 matches. The Super-4 match to be held on Thursday, 14 September has, in a way, become a knockout match, in which the winning team will make it to the final to be held on 17 September. This match is also to be played at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. There is a 90 percent chance of rain on the match day. If the match does not take place due to rain, then the Sri Lankan team will reach the final. India has already confirmed its place in the final by defeating Sri Lanka by 41 runs in the Super-4 match. The team led by Rohit Sharma is currently on top in the points table with 4 points.
Pakistan team is struggling with the problem of injured players. There is a possibility that its leading fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah will not be able to play in the match against Sri Lanka. Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan have been added to the team as backup for both the players. 22 year old Zaman bowls at a speed of 150 km per hour. Pakistan’s concern is not only about injured players. Its batsmen have also not been able to perform as per expectations in the tournament so far. The team had scored 342 runs for 6 wickets against Nepal in the first match of Asia Cup in Multan, but after that its batsmen were seen struggling to make a big score.
The performance of the batsmen was not as expected
In batting, Pakistan team is dependent on openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul Haq and captain Babar Azam. If it has to register a win against Sri Lanka, then batsmen like Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha will also have to contribute. Iftikhar Ahmed gave a good example of his ability to play long shots by scoring a century against Nepal, but he needs to maintain consistency in his performance against strong teams. Sri Lanka is one such strong team, which is ready to give a tough challenge to Pakistan.
Velalge showed amazing
After defeating Bangladesh and presenting a tough challenge to India, Sri Lanka has shown that its team is capable of performing well despite the absence of some of its key players. Before the start of the tournament, Sri Lanka’s key players Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara were out due to injuries. After this, Sri Lanka had to field its youth team in the tournament. But Dunith Velalage, Mathisha Pathirana and Mahesh Tikshina performed impressively and made the team a contender for the title.
The Sri Lankan team would like consistency in performance from its fast bowlers, especially Kasun Rajitha. Rajita has taken 4 wickets in 4 matches so far, but she has given runs at the rate of about 6 runs per over. Sri Lanka’s spinners had performed well against India and their team will expect better performance from them again. The spinners are also getting help from the pitch. In such a situation, the role of slow bowlers of both the teams will become important.
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Both teams are as follows
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Salman Ali Aga, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah. , Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir. Reserve: Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (vice-captain), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjay de Silva, Sadira Samarawickrama, Mahish Tikshina, Dunith Velalage, Mathisha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando. , Pramod Madushan.
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Tags: asia cup, Babar Azam, Pakistan, sri lanka
FIRST PUBLISHED: September 13, 2023, 13:56 IST
