Dubai [UAE], September 16 : Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka continued his fine run in T20Is, leapfrogging Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera to have the most fifty-plus scores in the format for his country.
Nissanka achieved this milestone during his side's Asia Cup Group B match against Hong Kong at Dubai. During the run-chase of 150, Nissanka scored a solid 68 in 44 balls, with six fours and two sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 154.55.
This is Nissanka's 17th fifty-plus score in T20Is for Sri Lanka, all of them half-centuries. Now, he is above Mendis (16 half-centuries) and Perera (a century and 15 fifties) in this aspect, continuing his rise as a trustworthy batter in the Lankan Lions' T20I set-up.
He is SL's third-highest T20I run-getter, with 2,068 runs in 70 matches and 69 innings at an average of 31.33 and a strike rate of 124.22, with best score of 90. With Perera (2,159 runs in 84 matches) and Mendis (2,090 runs in 86 matches), he does not have to do much to become the top run-getter in the format for SL.
This year in T20Is, Nissanka has scored 348 runs in nine innings at an average of 38.86, with a strike rate of 148.71 and three fifties, including a best score of 68.
With 118 runs in two matches at an average of 59.00 and a strike rate of over 151, including two fifties, Nissanka is the top run-getter in Asia Cup 2025 so far.
With this win, Sri Lanka tops Group B with two wins in two matches, while Hong Kong is out of the competition having lost three in three matches.
Put to bat first by SL, a half-century from Nizakat Khan (52* in 38 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and a crucial knock from Anshuman Rath (48 in 46 balls, with four boundaries) took Hong Kong to a fighting 149/4 in 20 overs. During the run-chase, SL was always in the hunt with Nissanka continuing his consistent run, but they collapsed from 119/2 to 127/6 in 17.1 overs. From there, Hasaranga (20* in nine balls, with two fours and a six) and Dasun Shanaka guided Lankan Lions to a crucial win, sealing their Super 4s spot with seven balls to go.
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