The Pakistan cricket team would be pumped up after restricting Sri Lanka to 133-8. The Men in Green were quite happy to field first after winning the toss. There was a tragic collapse by the island nation as apart from Kamindu Mendis. not a single batter scored 20+ runs. Kamindu Mendis‘ resurgent knock of 50 runs in 44 balls (*hit 3 fours and 2 sixes) was the only positive for Sri Lanka.
Pakistan named an unchanged playing 11 after their defeat against India in the previous encounter. The bowling unit against India was taken to the cleaners & now Pakistan had their task cut out against a very deep quality batting line up. Pakistan needed early, quick wickets as Sri Lanka had the luxury of having pinch hitters who can change the complexion of the match in the blink of an eye.
Shaheeen Afridi wrecks Sri Lanka’s batting unit in powerplay overs
Shaheen Afridi drew the first blood in the very first over & on the second ball by getting rid of Kusal Mendis. Kusal Mendis’ flick shot to mid-wicket gave catching practice to Hussain Talat. Shaheen Afridi was getting good shape and swing, which made him unplayable. Faheem Ashraf from the other end was bowling immaculate lines & lengths.
In his second over, Shaheen Afridi duped Pathum Nissanka by bowling wicket to wicket line & length, and got rid of Pathum Nissanka. Pathum Nissanka was quite keen to dominate the terms, but Shaheen hit the hard length quite next to perfect, and a thick edge to the wicket-keeper meant Sri Lanka’s openers were back in the pavilion inside 2.2 overs with the score being 18-2.
The powerplay overs were turning out to be a dreadful one for Sri Lanka. Skipper Charith Asalanka & Kusal Perera slowly & steadily recovered the team from early blows. Haris Rauf was given the 6th over to bowl, and his decision to bowl around the wicket to Kusal Perera on the second ball of the over brought curtains down for Sri Lanka as Kusal was dismissed on 15 runs in 12 balls with the team’s score being 43-3 in 5.2 overs.
If we look closely at the last 2 dismissals, Sri Lankan batters lacked mental application as their urge to dictate the terms resulted in their wickets. The surface didn’t have that many demons that Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets in the powerplay overs when they scored 53 runs. Despite scoring 53 runs, Sri Lanka was in a precarious position as their top 3 batters were back in the pavilion.
Kamindu Mendis fights a lone battle; Pakistani bowlers deepen the agony
Just when it looked like that, Kamindu Mendis & Charith Asalanka were putting things back on track for Sri Lanka, there was another mini collapse. In the 8th over, Hussain Talat got two back-to-back wickets in the form of Charith Asalank & Dasun Shanaka; Sri Lanka’s score was 58-5 in 7.3 overs, and the island nation badly needed Kamindu Mendis to bat till the end of the innings.
Wanindu Hasaranga & Kamindu Mendis played quite smartly, as there were hardly any rash shots. Slowly & steadily, the scoreboard was ticking around. At the end of 12 overs, Sri Lanka’s score was 80-5. Abrar Ahmed then foxed Hasaranga on the very first ball of 13 over and castelled his stumps.
It seemed as if Kamindu Mendis was batting on a different surface, which showed immense grit and determination. The spinners’ peculiarity was that they didn’t bowl that many freebies and continued to exert pressure on the batting unit. At the end of 15 overs, Sri Lanka’s score was 88-6.
Kamindu Mendis provides a late blitz; Pakistan runs away with wickets & regular intervals
Sri Lanka needed to end on a high note & Kamindu Mendis targeted Faheem Ashraf in the 18th over by smashing a four and a six. Kamindu Mendis got to his half-century in 44 balls, as his presence in the middle was quite critical, rather than emphasizing the strike rate. In the 19th over, Shaheen Afridi trapped Kamindu Mendis LBW by bowling an in-swinging yorker, and the batter was out on 50 runs in 44 balls and hit 3 fours and 2 sixes.
It won’t be wrong to say that Sri Lanka’s innings never ever took off. The death overs from 16-20 yielded 45 runs and lost 2 wickets in that phase, but the middle overs phase hurt them. Sri Lanka’s batting unit played a shocking 60 dot balls, which is no less than a crime in T20I cricket.
Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers, who took 3 scalps and gave away 28 runs in his 4-over spell. We should not forget that Abrar Ahmed’s economical spell, where he gave away 8 runs in 4 overs, was the stand-out difference for Pakistan. Abrar Ahmed took a crucial wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga as if both Hasaranga & Kamindu would have stayed till 20 overs, the score would have been more than 150+.
Who’s winning, Sri Lanka or Pakistan
It’s quite clear that Sri Lanka will have to bowl out Pakistan to win the match. With a required run rate of less than 7 runs per over, Sri Lanka would bank on their spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana & Wanindu Hasaranga to spin a web. On the other hand, Pakistan would believe that they can get over the finish line as one 50-odd runs partnership is ample to win the match. Pakistan would be eyeing to score around 40-45 runs in powerplay overs and make sure that they don’t lose 3-4 wickets in that phase. Pakistan looks sure-shot to win the contest and eliminate Sri Lanka from Asia Cup 2025 final race.