Watch: Charith Asalanka scores 6 in last 2 balls to book Sri Lanka the Asia Cup Final berth

Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 2 wickets in a nail-biting thriller at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo to qualify for the Asia Cup 2023 final. Charith Asalanka smashed 6 runs off the last two deliveries against Zaman Khan and took his side to a much-needed victory on September 14.

The Pakistan vs Sri Lanka game was affected by rain and was shortened to the 45-over-per-side contest. The rain again played a spoilsport during the Pakistan innings after which the game was reduced to 42 overs per side.

The Babar Azam-led side put on a competitive total 252-7 in their 42 overs on a pitch that had some help for the spinners. The Sri Lankan openers did lay the foundation but couldn’t score big after which the responsibility to chase down the target fell on the shoulders of their middle-order batters.

Charith Asalanka’s stellar knock helps Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023 clash

Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama made a formidable partnership for the third wicket which helped the Sri Lankan to reach close to the target. Mendis played a crucial knock of 91 runs while Sadeera scored 48 runs.

However, after the dismissal of Mendis and Sadeera, the Sri Lankan innings lost the momentum as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. It was Charith Asalanka who showed brilliant temperament under pressure in the final few overs of the game.

Shaheen Afridi bowled an exceptional 41st over as he got rid of Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage off consecutive deliveries. The left-arm pacer gave away just 4 runs in the penultimate over after which the Dasun Shanaka-led side needed 8 runs in the final over with just 3 wickets in hand.

The batting pair of Charith Asalanka and Pramod Madushan got 2 runs off the first deliveries and the latter got run-out on the fourth delivery. Asalanka now had the task of scoring 6 runs off the last couple of deliveries and was partnered by Matheesha Pathirana on the non-striker’s end.

Charith Asalanka smashed a boundary off the fifth delivery after which the pressure was on debutant Zaman Khan. The Sri Lankan batter then remained super calm and got a couple of runs in the final delivery to take his side into the Asia Cup 2023 final.

Asalanka remained unbeaten after scoring 49 runs off just 47 deliveries in the all-important game against Pakistan. The Sri Lankan side will now contest against India in the Asia Cup 2023 final on September 17.