Pakistan stay alive in Asia Cup with 5-wkt win over Sri Lanka

Pakistan revived their Asia Cup campaign with a tense five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in a Super Four clash in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Both sides had lost their opening fixtures of the round, making this a must-win encounter. Pakistan’s bowlers set the tone early, restricting Sri Lanka to 133-8 on a batting-friendly pitch.

Shaheen Shah Afridi struck twice in his opening burst, removing Sri Lanka’s in-form openers. He returned at the death to dismiss top-scorer Kamindu Mendis, finishing with figures of 3 for 28. Haris Rauf and Hussain Talat chipped in with two wickets apiece, while leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed bowled a miserly spell of 1 for 8 from four overs.

Despite the modest target, Pakistan’s chase was anything but smooth. After a brisk 45-run opening stand, their innings collapsed to 80-5. But a calm 58-run partnership off 41 balls between Mohammad Nawaz (38 off 24) and Hussain Talat (32* off 30) saw them home with two overs to spare.

Earlier, Kamindu Mendis held Sri Lanka’s innings together with a fighting 50 off 44 balls, featuring three fours and two sixes. He added 43 runs with Chamika Karunaratne for the seventh wicket, but Sri Lanka never fully recovered from their top-order collapse.

The result leaves India top of the table with two points from one game and a net run rate (NRR) of +0.689. Pakistan now sit second with two points and an NRR of +0.226, just ahead of Bangladesh (+0.121). Sri Lanka remain winless after two games, rooted to the bottom with an NRR of –0.590.

Sri Lanka, who had gone unbeaten in the group stage, now face a must-win clash against India to keep their faint hopes of reaching the final alive.