Dubai 9 September : Spinners Wanindu Hasaranga (3/21) and Maheesh Theekshana’s (2/21) impressive bowling performance contributed to Sri Lanka bowl out Pakistan to 121 in the Super Four match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Friday.In addition to Hasaranga and Theekshana Pramod Madushan (2/21), Chamika Karunaratne (1/4) and Dhananjaya de Silva (1/18) also bowled with discipline and did well for Sri Lanka.
On the other side, Babar Azam (30 off 29) and Mohammad Nawaz (26 off 18) were the top scorers for Pakistan.
First batsman to bat, Pakistan lost the wicket of inform Mohammad Rizwan (14) in the fourth over.
Rizwan was trying to block the ball from a long way off, but he edged it then Kusal Mendis took an easy catch.
Then, Fakhar Zaman and skipper Babar Azam played too cautiously and reduced Pakistan to 49/1 in just 6 overs.
After the powerplay, Pakistan continued their conservative approach , as there was no sign of the batters seemed willing to risk their lives.
The pressure was mounting and Fakhar decided to break the shackles.
However, Chamika Karunaratne was able to dismiss him thanks to an amazing catch by Wanindu hasaranga on the boundary.In the following round, Hasaranga cleaned up Babar who was walking down the wicket and tried to strike the ball through the fence, but failed to hit it and left Pakistan in a state of trouble at 68/3 after 10.4 overs.
The spinners in particular continued their excellent work, keeping an end to the rate of scoring and bringing success to Sri Lanka.Pakistan dropped the wickets of Khushdil Shah (4), Iftikhar Ahmed (13), Asif Ali (0), Hasan Ali in rapid succession, and ended up in deep problems at 95/7 following 15.6 overs.
It was Mohammad Nawaz, who hit only six boundaries to add some zing to his team’s innings, before being run out in the final over.Then, Pakistan were bowled out for 121-10 in 19.1 overs.
Brief score: Pakistan 121 all out in 19.1 Overs (Babar Azam 30, Mohammad Nawaz 26; Wanindu Hasaranga 3/21, Maheesh Theekshana 2-21) in a match against Sri Lanka
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