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Pakistan suffered a narrow two-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in their last Super 4 match of Asia Cup 2023 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Thursday. Courtesy of the win, Sri Lanka sealed their spot in the final, while Pakistan's journey in the tournament came to an end.
Rain interrupted before and during the first innings of the match, which forced the match officials to reduce it to a 42-over affair. After opting to bat first, the Men in Green made a decent score of 252/7 on the back of contributions from Mohammad Rizwan (86* in 73 balls), Abdullah Shafique (52), and Iftikhar Ahmed (47).
Kusal Mendis (91 in 87 balls), Sadeera Samarawickrama (48), and Charith Asalanka (49*) played invaluable knocks for Sri Lanka, helping them win the match off the final ball.
Fans slammed the Pakistan team for committing many mistakes in all three departments against Sri Lanka in a knock-out match. It cost them dearly as they failed to make it to the final of the Asia Cup after entering the tournament as favorites with a lot of momentum.
Here are some of the best reactions on the matter:
"Pakistan came back strongly but Charith held his nerve again" - Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka
At the post-match presentation, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka reflected on the win and said:
"We had the game under our control but the loss of wickets, especially mine and Dhananjaya de Silva's, I think we could have stayed until the last over. Pakistan came back strongly but Charith held his nerve again. We had a discussion before going out to bat. The coaching staff spoke about the mistakes done in the India game. We gave wickets in the first ten overs and today we didn't want to do it again."
He added:
"We have learnt from our mistakes and it was a brilliant knock from Kusal Mendis. Sadeera Samarawickrama - I think they (him and Mendis) are the best players of spin in Sri Lanka. And of course Charith. It's an amazing feeling - back-to-back finals so it's special for me and the whole of Sri Lanka. I must thank the crowd for supporting us. Looking forward to the final as well."
India and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the final of Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday (September 17) at the same venue.
