Last Update on: September 11th, 2022 at 05:01 pm
Asia Cup Final 2022: SL vs PAK- Pakistan Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka (Predicted). Pakistan and Sri Lanka will meet in Asia Cup 2022 final on Sunday, 11th September in Dubai. In a dress rehearsal of the Asia Cup 2022 final, Pakistan and Sri Lanka faced each other in Dubai on Friday 9th September.
Pakistan was fresh off a thrilling win against Afghanistan in Sharjah, while Sri Lanka was riding the crest of a confidence wave after beating defending champions India in its last game.
Wanindu Hasaranga led the bowling effort with a three-wicket haul before Pathum Nissanka notched up an unbeaten fifty as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 5 wickets in the final Super 4 contest of the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai.
Pakistan did what they are best at with their unpredictability and won their last 2 thrillers against India (5 wickets) and Afghanistan (1 wicket) in the last over. Against Afghanistan, Iftikhar Ahmed (30 runs) and Shadab Khan (36 runs) shared a vital partnership in the middle after Mohammad Rizwan’s 26-ball 20-run stay early in the match. Asif Ali (14 runs) and Naseem Shah (12 runs) scored crucial 26 runs in their final moments to cross the line with one wicket remaining.
Their bowlers put on a combined show to restrict the opposition to 129/6 in the last game. Haris Rauf was the chief wicket taker with 4-0-26-2 in the match. Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz picked up a wicket each and gave runs at less than 6 RPO in the last Asia Cup 2022 game.
Four late wickets gave Afghanistan a chance, before Fazalhaq Farooqi’s full tosses went for sixes, and eliminated both Afghanistan and India. Pakistan won a seesawing, low-scoring thriller to beat Afghanistan by one wicket, thus booking their date with Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2022.
The result not only brought down the curtain on Afghanistan’s campaign but also on defending champions India. Having restricted Afghanistan to 129 for 6 after winning the toss, Pakistan would have expected smooth sailing but Afghanistan’s bowlers kept a lid on the scoring rate.
Pakistan 131 for 9 (Shadab 36, Fareed 3-31, Farooqi 3-31) beat Afghanistan 129 for 6 (Ibrahim 35, Rauf 2-26, Naseem 1-19) by one wicket
Mohammad Nawaz stunned India with the bat after helping restrict them with the ball after a rampant start to give Pakistan a thrilling win in their Super 4 Asia Cup 2022 match against India. A week after India chased successfully in a thrilling group-stage finish, Pakistan returned the favour, asking India to bat and getting home with just one ball to spare.
Mohammad Rizwan anchored the chase with 71 off 51, but it was Mohammad Nawaz who provided the desperately needed impetus. Promoted to No. 4, he smashed 42 off 20 balls to put Pakistan back on track as India’s Virat Kohli’s 44 balls 60 went in vain.
Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan 182 for 5 (Rizwan 71, Nawaz 42) beat India 181 for 7 (Kohli 60, Rahul 28, Rohit 28, Shadab 2-31) by five wickets
In the inconsequential Super 4 match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s innings could never quite achieve lift-off, and when the middle overs came, spinner Wanindu Hasaranga put in his first big performance of the tournament, taking 3 for 21.
After his strikes, Pakistan’s horizons contracted substantially, despite the best efforts of Mohammad Nawaz, who seemed to be striking well in the 26 he made off 18 before he was run out. Eventually, Pakistan succumbed to 121.
Sri Lanka was rattled by Pakistan’s pace in the powerplay, slipping to 29 for 3 at one stage. But so modest was the target, they could afford to take it slow. Pathum Nissanka anchored the chase, hitting an unbeaten 55 off 48. Thanks to less substantial but more aggressive innings from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka ambled home with 18 balls and five wickets to spare.
Asia Cup 2022: Sri Lanka 124 for 5 (Nissanka 55*, Rauf 2-19, Hasnain 2-21) beat Pakistan 121 (Babar 30, Hasaranga 3-21, Theekshana 2-21, Madushan 2-21) by five wickets
After weeks full of entertainment and excitement, Asia Cup 2022 has finally reached its conclusion. All the teams gave their 100% but it was Pakistan and Sri Lanka who outshined the other four teams to claim the spot in the summit clash.
The final of the Asia Cup 2022 is slated to take place between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Sunday (11th September) in Dubai. Both teams won their first two games in the Super 4 stage, which took them straight to the final.
But when both teams will clash on Sunday, it is expected that Pakistan will emerge victorious and claim its third title. The reason behind the Babar Azam-led side having a higher chance to win the tournament is that most of their batters and bowlers are in form.
Sri Lanka on the other hand is also in the red hot form but they comparatively have less experience than Pakistan. But if their players step up they can even beat a strong team like Pakistan as they proved in the dead Super 4 rubber where they beat Pakistan comfortably.
Asia Cup Final 2022: SL vs PAK- Pakistan Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka (Predicted)
Babar Azam
Babar Azam is the skipper of Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022. He should be the opener for the team during the tournament. The right-handed batsman is one of the top-ranked batsmen in T20Is (ICC ranking) but is yet to fire in Asia Cup 2022.
He scored only 10 off 9 balls against India in Asia Cup 2022. He failed yet again against easier opponents in Hong Kong (9 off 8) when the other Pakistan batters were making merry. He failed to score much again in the Super 4 match against India scoring only 14 off 10.
He was dismissed without scoring again against Afghanistan as he was dismissed leg before wicket off Fazalhaq Farooqi in the 2nd ball of Pakistan’s innings. He scored 30 off 29 balls before being bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga in the inconsequential Super 4 game against Sri Lanka. He has scored only 63 runs in 5 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 at a pathetic average of only 12.6. He would like to amend his stats in the Asia Cup 2022 final against the same opponents- Sri Lanka.