Pakistan won a crucial Super Four clash in the Men’s Asia Cup 2025, defeating Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive, while Sri Lanka are now virtually out of contention.
Reporting from Abu Dhabi
A disciplined bowling display, spearheaded by Shaheen Shah Afridi, restricted Sri Lanka to 133 for 8 despite a fighting half-century from Kamindu Mendis — his third in T20Is. Led by their talisman Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka battled hard in defense of a below-par total, but Pakistan held their nerve to claim the points.
Sri Lanka’s hopes are not completely over, as they can still sneak into the final if Bangladesh win both their remaining games against India and Pakistan, and if Sri Lanka defeat India with a superior net run rate in their final Super Four clash on September 26 in Dubai.
>>Photos – Sri Lanka Practice Session Ahead of Pakistan Match | Asia Cup 2025
After opting to field first, which has been the trend in this particular venue, Shaheen Shah Afridi struck early in the first over as Kusal Mendis chipped his very first delivery straight to short mid-wicket. In his next over, Pathum Nissanka smashed a six over the bowler’s head and attempted the same shot off the following ball, only to be caught behind, leaving Sri Lanka two down for 18.
Just as Charith Asalanka and Kusal Perera were beginning to build a partnership, the latter fell to another soft dismissal, with Sri Lanka reeling at 43 for 3 in the sixth over.
Kamindu Mendis, coming in at number five, finished off the powerplay with a four and a six to take the score to 53 for 3.
As soon as the powerplay ended, Pakistan introduced their part-time bowlers, and against the run of play, Asalanka’s short-arm jab picked out the deep square-leg fielder, giving Hussain Talat a wicket in his very first over.
Dasun Shanaka, fresh from a solid knock against Bangladesh just a couple of days ago, nicked his first delivery behind, as the islanders slumped to 58 for 5 in the eighth over.
Sri Lanka badly needed Kamindu Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga to stage a rescue from a precarious position. But Abrar Ahmed had other ideas. A sharp googly from him broke through Hasaranga’s defense as he attempted a slog sweep.
Abrar’s spell of 1 for 8 in four overs is now the most economical four-over spell by a spinner in Men’s T20 Asia Cup history.
Kamindu Mendis fought hard to reach his half-century off 43 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes, but he fell soon after raising his fifty.
Chamika Karunaratne chipped in with an unbeaten 17 from 21 deliveries as Sri Lanka crawled their way to 133, after being 6 down for 80, well below par on a good batting pitch.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, claiming 3 for 28 in his four-over spell.
Chasing only 134 runs for victory, Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave Pakistan a flying start, smashing 45 runs inside the powerplay as they took on the extra pace of Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera.
The in-form Farhan hit one straight down the throat of mid-off as Maheesh Theekshana struck in his second over. Just two balls later, Wanindu Hasaranga pulled off a one-handed blinder at mid-off to dismiss Fakhar Zaman, sending both Pakistani openers back to the pavilion in the same over during the powerplay.
Once the fielding restrictions were lifted, Hasaranga produced a brilliant wrong’un to outfox Saim Ayub, whose poor run in the tournament continued as he failed to pick the Lankan spin maestro.
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, who holds the lowest strike rate among 35 batters from full-member nations with 500-plus T20I runs since January 2024, also failed to read Hasaranga’s wrong’un and wasted a review in the process.
With Sri Lanka desperately searching for a breakthrough, Chameera was brought back into the attack and struck immediately, castling Mohammad Haris to leave Pakistan in trouble at 80 for 5.
Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz, both being left-handers managed to withstand the Hasaranga-Theekshana threat to take Pakistan safely home with a match-winning stand worth of 58 runs for the 6th wicket.
Sri Lanka – 133/8 (20 overs) – Kamindu Mendis 50, Charith Asalanka 20, Hussain Talat 2/18, Haris Rauf 2/37, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3/28.
Pakistan – 138/5 (18 overs) – Sahibzada Farhan 24, Hussain Talat 32*, Mohammad Nawaz 38*, Wanindu Hasaranga 2/25, Maheesh Theekshana 2/24.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Mohammad Haris b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 114.29 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Hussain Talat b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Perera | c Faheem Ashraf b Haris Rauf | 15 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 125.00 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Haris Rauf b Hussain Talat | 20 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 105.26 |
| Kamindu Mendis | lbw b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 50 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 113.64 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Mohammad Haris b Hussain Talat | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | b Abrar Ahmed | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 115.38 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | not out | 17 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 80.95 |
| Dushmantha Chameera | c Agha Salman b Haris Rauf | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Maheesh Theekshana | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 3 , nb 1, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 133/8 (20 Overs, RR: 6.65) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 4 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 7.00 | |
| Faheem Ashraf | 4 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 8.50 | |
| Haris Rauf | 4 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 9.25 | |
| Agha Salman | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | |
| Hussain Talat | 3 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Abrar Ahmed | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sahibzada Farhan | c Kamindu Mendis b Maheesh Theekshana | 24 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 160.00 |
| Fakhar Zaman | c Wanindu Hasaranga b Maheesh Theekshana | 17 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 89.47 |
| Saim Ayub | b Wanindu Hasaranga | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Agha Salman | lbw b Wanindu Hasaranga | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Hussain Talat | not out | 32 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 106.67 |
| Haris Rauf | b Dushmantha Chameera | 13 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 118.18 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | not out | 38 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 158.33 |
| Extras | 7 (b 4 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 138/5 (18 Overs, RR: 7.67) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuwan Thushara | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 9.67 | |
| Dushmantha Chameera | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 7.75 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 6.75 | |
| Charith Asalanka | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11.00 | |
