DUBAI: Pathum Nissanka smashed a powerful 55 off 48 after spinners wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s batting line to claim a comprehensive five-wicket win over the Green Shirts on Thursday as the two side gear up for the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
Hasaranga de Silva remained impressive with the ball in the final encounter of the Super Four stage as he bagged three crucial wickets along with Maheesh Theekshana who claimed two, to restrict Pakistan to a paltry total of 121 after they were put to bat.
“I have come back strong with some good quality wickets, so happy. I tried bowling dot balls in first few overs, that’s why the three wickets came,” said Player of the match, Hasaranga in a post-match presentation.
Opener Nissanka starred with a blistering knock despite the initial blows early on in the chase as Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf took wickets each in the first two overs.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa combined excellently with Nissanaka as the two stood firm for a valiant 51-run partnership after Sri Lanka were restricted to 29/3 in the fifth over.
Rajapaksa scored 24 off 19 before he fell prey to Usman Qadir in the 12th over. Skipper Dasun Shanaka, then contributed with a quick 21 off 16 and took the side towards a comfortable position in the game before Hasnain dismissed him in the 17th over.
Hasaranga, on the other hand, blasted two boundaries in the same over to finish the proceedings.
For Pakistan, Hasnain and Rauf bagged two wickets each while Usman Qadir had a wicket to his credit.
Earlier, Pakistan went for a dismal start to their innings as opener Mohammad Rizwan fell cheaply on 14 in the fourth over. None of the batters impressed with skipper Babar Azam, top scoring for the side with his cautious knock of 30 off 29.
“Our batting wasn’t up to the mark after the powerplay. We couldn’t build on from there,” said skipper Babar after the match.
Despite a valiant knock by Nawaz, late in the order, as he smashed 26 off 18, Pakistan lost the last five wickets for the addition of mere 31 runs.
For Sri Lanka, apart from Hasaranga and Theekshana, right-arm pacer Pramod Madushan claimed two wickets while Chamika Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva made a scalp apiece.
