Asia Cup Super 4: Similar Goals, Similar Challenges: Sri Lanka and Pakistan Restart Their Friendly Yet Fierce Rivalry
Similar Goals, Similar Challenges: Sri Lanka and Pakistan Restart Their Friendly Yet Fierce Rivalry
Asia Cup 2025, Sri Lanka vs Pakistan: Both teams will face a do-or-die situation. Pakistan lost to India, and Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka. A defeat today will almost end the loser's chances of reaching the Asia Cup final.
Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are looking to restore their pride in cricket. Pakistan's struggles are clear, while Sri Lanka recently lost to Bangladesh. They often tease each other about their achievements, like the Asia Cup trophies.
The two teams haven’t faced each other in T20 matches for a while, with their last game in 2022. Both teams seem similar in strength, as they both have issues with batting power. Pakistan is ranked seventh, and Sri Lanka is eighth. Both are trying to bounce back, and a win for Sri Lanka against Pakistan would boost their confidence.
Haris Rauf has played only two T20 matches against Sri Lanka, but he has taken five wickets and has an economy rate of 6.85 in those games. He was also the best fast bowler for Pakistan in the last match against India, with figures of 2 for 26. Sri Lanka usually feels confident facing left-arm seamers since they have many left-handed batsmen at the top of their order. However, in their last match, they lost three wickets to Mustafizur Rahman.
Nuwan Thushara is known for his outswing bowling at the start of the innings, which has helped him take important wickets during the powerplay. In the last match, though, Bangladesh's Saif Hassan took him on by charging down the pitch and hitting him for runs. Thushara is now a fairly experienced bowler. Will he be able to bounce back?
Pakistan (probable): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Agha (c.), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Sri Lanka (probable): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (c), Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Nuwan Thushara
Stats and Trivia
- Sri Lanka has beaten Pakistan in their last five T20I matches, a streak that started in October 2019.
- However, in the UAE, Pakistan has won four out of seven T20I games against Sri Lanka.
- Currently, openers Pathum Nissanka and Sahibzada Farhan are the second and third highest run scorers in the tournament, just behind India's Abhishek Sharma. Sri Lanka's other opener, Kusal Mendis, is in fifth place on that list.