University of jaffna, University in Kokuvil East, Sri Lanka

Dubai, Sep 11 An impressive fighting fifty by Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71 not out off 45 and an attacking knock by Wanindu Hasaranga (36 off 21) propelled Sri Lanka to 170/6 against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here on Sunday.Apart from Rajapaksa and Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva (28 off 21) and Chamika Karunaratne (14 not out off 14) also played vital knocks for Sri Lanka, during their stay at the crease.Put into bat first, Sri Lanka were off to a terrible start, losing three wickets inside the powerplay against the quality pace bowling. In the very first over, pacer Naseem Shah clean bowled Mendis, who was late to bring his bat down on a quality length ball. Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva then hit a few boundaries to show some fight back.However, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam brought Haris Rauf into the attack and he put Sri Lanka back in trouble by taking the wickets of Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka.On a quick delivery at 146 kph, Nissanka played a lofted shot but the ball went only to mid-off, where Babar Azam took a good backward running catch. The pacer then dismantled the stumps of Gunathilaka, to leave Sri Lanka in deep trouble at 36/3 after 5.1 overs.Among all Sri Lankan batters, Dhananjaya de Silva looked most comfortable and it seemed he would bail his team out of trouble. But, Iftikhar Ahmed got rid of De Silva with a brilliant reflex catch off his own bowling in the ninth over.And in the next over, Shadab Khan breached the defence of Sri Lanka spinner Dasun Shanaka, who went for a wild slog but couldn't connect. With 58/5 in 8.5 overs, Sri Lanka were in danger of getting bowled but Rajapaksa and Hasaranga showed the fighting spirit and did counter-attack.Both Rajapaksa and Hasaranga looked in control against spinners and hit three boundaries off Shadab Khan. Hasaranga then slammed one boundary and a huge six over backward point to give impetus to the Sri Lankan innings.From who else but Hasaranga 36 off 21. He was aggressive against Shadab, Hasnain and now Rauf again, hitting the pacer for two fours before he edged one to the keeper. What this wicket has done though is brought the match alive. Up until the ninth over, it was all Pakistan.Hasaranga continued his aggressive approach and welcomed Haris Rauf with two boundaries before the pacer dismissed the batter to break a crucial 58-run stand for the sixth wicket, which brought the match alive.After the wicket of Hasaranga, Rajapaksa had the responsibility of batting till the last over and he did that with perfection. He hit boundaries and sixes to complete his half-century in 35 balls.The left-hander also got the able support of Chamika Karunaratne, which was required for a strong finish for Sri Lanka. Both Rajapaksa and Karunaratne remained not out, added 54 runs off only 31 balls and took Sri Lanka to 170/6 in 20 overs.For Pakistan, Haris Rauf (3/29) was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name while Iftikhar Ahmed (1/21), Shadab Khan (1/28) and Naseem Shah (1/40) were the other wicket takers.Brief scores: Sri Lanka 170/6 in 20 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 71 not out, Wanindu Hasaranga 36; Haris Rauf 3/29) vs PakistanDisclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

University Of JaffnaFOLLOW

University of jaffna, Latest News

Dubai, Sep 19 Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes big-hitting batter Tim David can bring that small ... ...

Colombo, Sep 18 Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is all set to part ways with its Director of Cricket ... ...

Colombo, Sep 16 Sri Lanka, who recently won the Asia Cup T20 tournament, on Friday announced their squad ... ...

Colombo, Sep 15 Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka must start agricultural modernisation in 2023 ... ...

Nagpur, Sept 12 The first-ever BWF International Challenge will begin with qualifying rounds on September 13 at Divisional ... ...

Colombo, Sep 12 Sri Lanka's Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said that more than 200,000 ... ...

Dubai, Sep 11 Sri Lanka produced a clinical all-round performance to beat Pakistan by 23 runs in the ... ...

Dubai, Sep 11 An impressive fighting fifty by Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71 not out off 45 and an attacking ... ...