Asia Cup 2022- : Dress rehearsal game between the finalists

September 9, 2022 Hishan Welmilla ASIA CUP 2022, CRICKET, Uncategorized 0

Sri Lanka has turned the Asia Cup around. As hosts, they painfully allowed the tournament to be moved from their shores due to the political unrest and financial crisis in their country. Cricket was still active in the country as the Sri Lankans played a few home series before arriving in the UAE.

Lacking confidence, missing home support and familiar conditions, the Sri Lankans faced an early exit from the tournament after losing to Afghanistan: they were bowled out for a paltry 104. With their backs to the wall, Sri Lanka pulled off a thrilling win against Bangladesh and qualified for the Super 4. Since then, there has been no looking back.

The young team managed to soak up the pressure and showed that they are still a force to reckon with in world cricket. The early signs of resurgence came at home against the Australians, but their record away is not great in recent times.

The win against Afghanistan in the Super 4 must have boosted the islanders’ confidence as they followed it up with a fine win over India in another close match.

Sri Lanka have the bowling to test the batters in the UAE, but their batting was a worry. However, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka ensured that they got a good start against India and contributions from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and skipper Dasun Shanaka helped them down India.

Sri Lanka’s batting has only clicked more recently and, even then, almost exclusively while chasing. However, between Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, they have got destructive batters in form. Pakistan have relied a little more heavily on Mohammad Rizwan, who is one of only two batters with more than 200 runs in the tournament so far, with 212 at an average of 70.66.
On the bowling front, Pakistan perhaps have a clear advantage. But then, both teams are likely to rest key bowlers for this dead rubber.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.