Asia Cup 2022: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by five wickets

DUBAI: Sri Lanka produced a clinical all-round performance to beat Pakistan by five wickets in a Super Four match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here on Friday.

Spinners Wanindu Hasaranga (3/21) and Maheesh Theekshana's (2/21) impressive bowling performance helped Sri Lanka bowl out Pakistan for 121 in 19.1 overs. Apart from Hasaranga and Theekshana, Pramod Madushan (2/21), Chamika Karunaratne (1/4) and Dhananjaya de Silva (1/18) also bowled with discipline and did a decent job for Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, Babar Azam (30 off 29) and Mohammad Nawaz (26 off 18) were the top-scorers for Pakistan.

Chasing a small target, opener Pathum Nissanka slammed a fine unbeaten half-century (55 not out off 48) to lead Sri Lanka to a convincing victory. Apart from Nissanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (24 off 19) and Dasun Shanaka (21 off 16) also played vital knocks as Sri Lanka chased down the target in 17 overs, with five wickets in hand.

Haris Rauf (2/19), Mohammad Hasnain (2/21), Usman Qadir (1/34) were the wicket-takers for Pakistan.

Brief scores: Pakistan 121 all out in 19.1 overs (Babar Azam 30, Mohammad Nawaz 26; Wanindu Hasaranga 3/21, Maheesh Theekshana 2/21) lost to Sri Lanka 124-5 in 17 overs (Pathum Nissanka 55 not out, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 24; Haris Rauf 2/19) by five wickets.