Waseem was appointed for the role last month along with former Test bowlers Abdur Rehman and Junaid Khan as the spin bowling and assistant coaches, respectively.

He addressed his first press conference as the head coach of the Pakistan women’s team in the National Bank Stadium and expressed excitement about taking up his new role.

“It will be my first experience with the Pakistan Women’s team, there is a new challenge for the coaching staff,” said Waseem.

He supervised a training camp for the Pakistan women’s cricket team at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre in Karachi for the preparation of the Asia Cup 2024, which ended today.

“We have worked out various strategic plans during the training camp. But we need to steer in a better direction,” he added.

“We attempted to change the players’ mindset and also worked on improving their fitness levels. I am satisfied with the fitness and fielding standards of our team.”

The former batter also shared that women cricketers also shoulder similar expectations as their male counterparts. He also demanded all required facilities for the women’s team in the camp.

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“In order to take women’s cricket forward, major steps have to be taken. In domestic cricket, players should be given a maximum number of matches,” he further stated.

Waseem also shared that he, along with his fellow coaches, is trying to groom a new captain for the women’s team.

“We are working on grooming the new captain. I don’t believe that only a senior player should be made captain,” he said.

Upon being asked about the preparations for the Asia Cup, the head coach opened up about making plans for each team in the tournament.

“Homework has been completed for every team including India. We have monitored the performance of Nepal and UAE as well,” Waseem said.

“We are not taking any team lightly. We are aiming to commence the Asia Cup campaign with the win against India,” he concluded.

Nida Dar-led Pakistan team will depart for Colombo from Karachi to partake in the Asia Cu. They will play their first match against India on 19 July.

Pakistan squad for ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup

Nida Dar (c), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi, Nashra Sundhu, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tasmia Rubab and Tuba Hassan

READ: PCB chairman makes major decisions to improve Pakistan cricket

The post Pakistan women’s head coach eyes victory against India in Asia Cup appeared first on ASports.tv.

Let’s take a closer look at how Pakistan’s men’s and women’s teams fared throughout this year.

Pakistan became the number-one ODI team, a rollercoaster of bilateral series

The Pakistan cricket team kicked off the year 2023 with a 2-1 ODI series loss at home against New Zealand in January.

The Kiwis visited Pakistan again in April for the T20I and ODI series, where the T20I series ended in a 2-2 tie, while one match was abandoned due to rain.

However, Pakistan avenged their earlier ODI series loss as they defeated New Zealand 4-1 this time, thanks to Fakhar Zaman, who scored two centuries during the series and was adjudged player of the series.

Pakistan cricket team reached the summit of the ICC ODI Rankings for the first time during the series after defeating New Zealand in the first four matches, however, their reign at the top was short-lived as the loss in the final ODI slipped them to third place.

Prior to the New Zealand series, Pakistan played a T20I series against Afghanistan in UAE right after the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where they rested their key players and sent a relatively young team under Shadab Khan.

The Greenshirts faced their first-ever defeat against Afghanistan in any format when they were defeated by six wickets after being restricted to a meagre 92-9.

Afghanistan improved the margin of victory as they sealed the series with a seven-wicket win in the second match, while Pakistan got a consolation win in the last match.

Both teams squared off in an ODI series in Sri Lanka ahead of Asia Cup 2023, where Pakistan registered a clean sweep in the three-match series to extend their undefeated streak against Afghanistan in ODIs.

The 3-0 victory in the ODI series over Afghanistan ascended Pakistan to the number one spot in the ICC ODI Rankings once again, which they held

Pakistan played only one Test series in the first half of the year because the year was dominated by ODI cricket by virtue of being the ODI World Cup year.

The Greenshirts toured Sri Lanka to commence their Test Championship (WTC) campaign in a two-match series.

Saud Shakeel scored his maiden double-century in the first Test to script a winning start to their campaign with a four-wicket win.

Pakistan registered a massive victory in the second Test with a margin of an innings and 222 runs, courtesy of Abdullah Shafique’s maiden double-century and Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten century.

Lahore Qalandars became the first team to win consecutive PSL titles

From being the ultimate underdogs to becoming the only team to successfully defend their Pakistan Super League (PSL) title, Lahore Qalandars’ journey in tournament history is enthralling.

Lahore Qalandars remained at the bottom of the table during the first four editions of PSL, before playing the final of the fifth edition, where they lost to arch-rivals Karachi Kings.

The Qalandars then had another forgetful season in 2021 but they made an astounding return in the 2022 edition and won the coveted PSL trophy.

They kicked off their title defence in the eighth edition of the PSL with a thrilling one-run victory over Multan Sultans.

However, they faced a crushing 67-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Karachi Kings in the next match.

Qalandars then went on to win five consecutive matches, including the thumping win over Islamabad United by 110 runs, which is the joint-third largest margin of victory in terms of runs in PSL history.

However, they improved their record and defeated Islamabad United by the biggest margin of 119 runs, which is a PSL record.

Qalandars topped the points table with seven victories out of ten games and faced Multan Sultans in the first playoff game, where they were bowled out for a meagre 76 while chasing 161.

They then scripted a comeback victory over Peshawar Zalmi in the Eliminator 2 to chase 172 with seven balls to spare.

Lahore Qalandars once again squared off against Multan Sultans in the final of the PSL, where they came out triumphant thanks to Zaman Khan’s last-over heroics as he defended 13 runs to help his team create history.

Asia Cup returns to Pakistan but not the trophy as India lift eighth title

ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023 was the first multi-nation cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, however, the tournament was played in a hybrid model with Sri Lanka being the joint-hosts.

Asia Cup 2023 was played in the ODI format, unlike the T20I format last year as the tournament is being played on a rotation basis to follow the format of the upcoming ICC event.

Pakistan commenced their campaign with a massive 238-run victory over the Nepal side courtesy of Babar Azam’s 151-run knock.

They next faced arch-rivals India, where Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf shared ten wickets to bowl India out for 266.

However, it literally rained on their parade as the downpour did not allow a single ball to be bowled in the second innings, thus abandoning the match.

Both teams advanced to the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup, where Pakistan thumped Bangladesh by seven wickets in their first game courtesy of their pace bowling led by Haris Rauf’s 4-19.

Pakistan’s pace attack looked invincible in the tournament and it seemed like they would finally end their Asia Cup trophy drought this year, however, they were stopped in their tracks in the next match against India.

Indian batters piled up 356-2 on the reserve day of the rain-effected match in Colombo, with all four of their batters crossing the 50-run mark.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scored half-centuries, whereas Virat Kohli and Kl Rahul scored centuries to post the mammoth total.

Notably, Naseem Shah also got injured during the match and was subsequently ruled out for the entirety of the Asia Cup as well as the ICC World Cup 2023.

In response, Pakistan’s batting line bundled out for a meagre 128, courtesy of Kuldeep Yadav’s five-fer.

The Greenshirts were needed to defeat Sri Lanka in their last Super Four match to qualify for the final, where they would have faced India again.

But, Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka in the last-over thriller, where Charith Asalanka held on to his nerves and guided his side to a two-wicket victory.

Sri Lanka faced India in the final with dreams of winning back-to-back Asia Cup titles, little did they know that their dreams would be shattered destructively.

India bowled out Sri Lanka for 50 runs inside 16 overs, thanks to Mohammed Siraj’s impressive bowling figures of 6-21.

They then comfortably chased the total without losing a wicket in the seventh over, winning their eighth Asia Cup title.

A disastrous ICC World Cup 2023 campaign for Pakistan

Pakistan cricket team landed in India for the first time since ICC T20 World Cup 2016, in their quest for a second ODI World Cup title.

However, the Babar Azam-led side had a shaky start as they were reduced to 38-3 against the Netherlands in their first game, which they eventually won by 68 runs.

In the next game, the Green Shirts avenged their Asia Cup loss to Sri Lanka, that too in a grand style as they recorded the highest successful run chase in World Cup history, courtesy of Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten century.

However, they lost to arch-rivals India in a one-sided contest by seven wickets after bundling out for 191 in front of the packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, extending their World Cup losing streak against India to eight matches.

After two early victories, Pakistan lost four matches on the trot, leaving their semi-final hopes hanging off a thread.

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Among those four losses, the most embarrassing was the eight-wicket loss against Afghanistan in a one-sided match, which was Pakistan’s first loss against the neighbouring country in the ODI format.

However, keeping their unpredictable tag intact, Pakistan made a comeback in the tournament as they were required to win their last three matches convincingly with several other results going their way.

Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets and New Zealand by 21 runs (DLS) courtesy of Fakhar Zaman’s whirlwind performance in both matches.

While chasing a mountainous 402 against New Zealand, Zaman kept his team in the hunt during the rain-effected match with an unbeaten 81-ball 126, pushing the team’s total ahead of the DLS par score, resulting in the victory.

Pakistan now had to defeat the struggling England in their final group match with a huge margin to qualify for the semi-final spot, however, they lost by 93 runs, thus ending a dismal World Cup campaign.

Australia went on to win the tournament, as they defeated undefeated India in the final by six wickets.

Dawn of a new day in Pakistan cricket

In the aftermath of the ICC World Cup 2023 debacle, the Pakistan cricket team saw major changes in team management as captain Babar Azam relinquished the captaincy of all three formats.

PCB handed the reigns of Test captaincy to top-order batter Shan Masood and T20I leadership was handed over to pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, meanwhile, the ODI captain will be announced later as there are no ODIs scheduled in the future.

Moreover, Mickey Arthur was replaced by former captain Mohammad Hafeez as the Team’s Director while Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz were appointed bowling coach and chief selector respectively.

The old challenge for the new management

Shan Masood’s first assignment as Test captain was the three-match Test series against Australia in their backyard, where Pakistan had not won a Test match since 1995.

Pakistan’s losing streak in Australia extended further as the Green Shirts suffered a massive 360-run loss in the first Test in Perth.

Pakistan’s batting lineup unfolded at a mere 89 in the fourth innings while chasing a mammoth total of 450.

Following the massive victory in the first Test, Australia defeated Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by 79 runs as the visitors skittle for 237 in the fourth innings in pursuit of 317 to win the three-match Test series 2-0.

Pakistan cricket team will play the third Test in Sydney from January 3rd, 2024.

Pakistan Women’s Team’s bittersweet year

Pakistan women’s cricket team did not have a different year than the men’s cricket team, however, they achieved a few historic wins this year.

They kicked off the year with a historic tour of Australia after a nine-year hiatus, however, the tour proved to be a horror show as the visitors remained winless.

Australia defeated the women’s team of Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series and 2-0 in the T20I series, while one match was washed out due to consistent rain in Canberra.

An early exit from the T20 World Cup

Pakistan women’s cricket team had a disappointing T20 World Cup 2023 campaign in South Africa under Bismah Maroof, where they failed to qualify for the semi-final.

They were defeated by seven wickets in their first match against arch-rival India after setting a target of 150, which was chased with an over to spare.

However, the Pakistan women’s team made a comeback in the next game against Ireland, defeating them by 70 runs.

Ireland women’s team was bundled for a paltry 95-run total while chasing 166, inspired by Muneeba Ali, who struck the first-ever century for Pakistan in Women’s T20Is.

In their next game against West Indies, they fell three short of West Indies’ 166 in a last-over thriller which almost confirmed Pakistan’s exit from the tournament.

Pakistan faced the strong England side in their final group match, where they were restricted to 99-9 while chasing a mammoth 214.

Notably, the Pakistan women’s team has never qualified for the knock-out round of the T20 World Cup ever since its inception in 2009.

Meanwhile, Australia went on to win their record sixth T20 World Cup title by defeating host South Africa by 19 runs in the final.

The wave of change in Women’s cricket

Following the T20 World’s early exit, Bismah Maroof stepped down from captaincy, after leading Pakistan in 27 out of 62 T20Is and 16 out of 34 ODI wins.

All-rounder Nida Dar was appointed the captain of the Pakistan women’s team after Bismah Maroof’s resignation.

Women made history against South Africa, New Zealand

Nida Dar’s first assignment was the white-ball series against South Africa, who were visiting Pakistan for the first time.

Pakistan women’s cricket team created history in 2023 as they whitewashed South Africa for the first time during the three-match T20I series in Karachi.

However, South Africa made a comeback in the ODI series, defeating Pakistan 2-1.

Pakistan women’s team then toured Bangladesh, where they lost both T20I and ODI series 2-1.

Pakistan then had a historical tour of New Zealand in December, where they registered their first-ever series victory over the New Zealand women’s team in the T20I format during the first match of the series.

They then defeated New Zealand by ten runs in the second T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, before losing the last game to make it 2-1.

With this victory, the Pakistan women’s team became the first Asian side to beat New Zealand in a T20I series.

During the ODI series, the hosts defeated Pakistan in the first two games to win the series 2-0 keeping their undefeated streak at home against the visitors.

However, Pakistan broke the streak in the last match of the series as they registered their first-ever ODI victory over New Zealand in New Zealand.

The thrilling match was decided in the Super Over after the game was tied initially.

With this tour, the Pakistan women’s cricket team ended 2023 on a high, as they look forward to new challenges in 2024.

Curtains down on some of the memorable careers

The year 2023 saw some of the stars of the Men’s Pakistan cricket team hanging up their boots and transitioning to different roles, namely, Sohail Tanvir, Ehsan Adil, Hammad Azam, Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Imad Wasim, and Asad Shafiq.

Notably, except for Hammad Azam, all the players mentioned above have represented Pakistan in T20I or ODI World Cup.

Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal were part of the T20I World Cup winning squad in 2009, while Imad Wasim played his role in Pakistan’s triumph in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.

Wahab Riaz was initially part of the Champions Trophy squad but was ruled out with an injury after the first match.

Moreover, two women’s players Ayesha Naseem and Nahida Khan also bid farewell to cricket this year.

Nahida Khan represented Pakistan in three 50-over World Cups (2013, 2017 and 2022) and four T20 World Cups (2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018).

Meanwhile, Ayesha Naseem shockingly retired at the age of 18 after playing only four Women’s ODIs and four Women’s T20Is to spend the rest of her life as per the teaching of her religion.

READ: A glimpse at Pakistan’s 2023 in major sports 

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Set to chase a meagre 51, India comfortably completed the pursuit in 6.1 overs without losing a single wicket to lift their eighth Asia Cup title.

India’s new opening pair of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan carried the momentum and dominated the Sri Lankan bowlers to script a statement victory for the former champions.

Gill top-scored for India in the Asia Cup 2023 final with a 19-ball 27 which featured six boundaries while Kishan scored 23 not out in 18 balls.

Opting to bat first, the Sri Lankan batting lineup failed completely and was bundled out for a paltry 51 in the 16th over.

The home side lost their opener Kusal Perera (0) in the first over with just one run on the board.

What followed was a total annihilation by Mohammed Siraj who picked up four wickets — Pathum Nissanka (2), Sadeera Samarawickrama (0), Charith Asalanka (0) and Dhananjaya de Silva (4) — in the fourth over to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 12/5.

Sri Lanka failed to recover from Siraj’s demolition and he came back to add further to their misery by dismissing skipper Dasun Shanaka in his next over and completing his five-fer.

Wicketkeeper batter Kusal Mendis, who hung on for Sri Lanka then put on the highest partnership of the Asia Cup 2023 final for the home side with Dunith Wellalage before Siraj struck again.

Kusal Mendis remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka with a 34-ball 17 which featured three boundaries.

Following Siraj’s dominance, Hardik Pandya put the final nail in the coffin by getting rid of the Sri Lankan batting tail.

He removed Dunith Wellalage (8) before wrapping up Sri Lanka’s dismal innings in his next over by dismissing Pramod Madushan (1) and Matheesha Pathirana (0).

Young all-rounder Dushan Hemantha remained unbeaten with a 15-ball 13 and remained the only Sri Lankan batter to amass double figures beside Kusal Mendis.

Notably, Sri Lanka’s 50-run total is now the lowest total in the Asia Cup history, breaking the previous record held by Bangladesh, who were dismissed for 87 runs against Pakistan in 2000.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s 50-run total is the lowest in men’s ODI history in a tournament final. It is also the third time this year that Sri Lanka have been bowled out for less than a hundred in ODIs.

Mohammed Siraj led the bowling attack for India in the Asia Cup 2023 final with a 6/21, followed by Hardik Pandya’s 3/3 while Jasprit Bumrah had a wicket to his name.

READ: Ahmad Shahzad presents Rs1mn to Arshad Nadeem

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PLAYING XIs

Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 166, Sri Lanka 96, India 58, NR 11, Tied 1

Asia Cup ODI: Matches 20, Sri Lanka 10, India 10

READ: Barcelona jump to top of La Liga standings after crushing Real Betis 5-0

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Theekshana, 23, hurt his hamstring during their Super Four win over Pakistan to make the Sunday final of the 50-over tournament, a prelude to the next month’s ODI World Cup in India.

“He won’t be able to take part in this game since he got a Grade 3 injury, but he will be there for the World Cup,” Shanaka told reporters on the eve of the title clash in Colombo.

Maheesh Theekshana claimed eight wickets in five matches to lend support to a youthful bowling attack alongside pacer Matheesha Pathirana and fellow spinner Dunith Wellalage.

“Maheesh Theekshana, who strained his right hamstring during the game against Pakistan, will not be available for the finals,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stated.

“A scan was done and confirmed the muscle injury.

“Sri Lanka Cricket Selectors have brought in Sahan Arachchige into the squad in place of Theekshana.

“Theekshana will return to the High Performance Center to commence rehabilitation work.”

Sri Lanka, who cohosted the tournament with Pakistan, came in as underdogs but have made their 11th Asia Cup final and a have chance to clinch their seventh title.

The island nation snuck into the Super Fours with a dramatic win over Afghanistan and have kept up their momentum despite losing to India in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours.

“The boys really want to deliver for the country,” said Shanaka.

“As a team we have been underdogs, so everyone wants to perform on the bigger stage. These youngsters, they need to show the world what they are capable of.”

READ: Naseem Shah likely to miss ICC Men’s World Cup – report

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Taking to Instagram, Sarfaraz Ahmed shared a post from a local news outlet, which quoted him saying “supportive words” for the current national team.

“No player goes to the field to lose! The captain is nothing without his players,” Sarfaraz Ahmed was quoted.

“[and] I was very lucky to have Babar Azam, Imam Ul Haq, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali and Faheem Ashraf who are now the backbone of the team,” it added.

Pakistan, who entered the Asia Cup 2023 as a top-ranked ODI side, failed to live up to the label of being the favourites as they crashed out of the tournament after finishing fourth in the Super 4s stage.

The hosts got off to a solid start to their Asia Cup campaign as they humbled Nepal by a massive 238 runs before settling for a stalemate with arch-rivals India after their second group-stage match was washed out on September 2.

Pakistan then crushed Bangladesh to script a winning start to the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s but failed to imitate similar results against India and Sri Lanka and thus failed to qualify for the final.

But, Bangladesh’s stunning victory over India in the last Super 4s fixture on Friday meant Pakistan slipped to fourth as the Shakib Al Hasan-led side acquired the third position due to a superior net run rate.

Former champions India and Sri Lanka will now lock horns in the Asia Cup 2023 final on Sunday with a reserve day on Monday.

Notably, India are the most successful nation in the Asia Cup history, having won the title seven times, followed by Sri Lanka, who emerged victorious on six occasions.

READ: Naseem Shah likely to miss ICC Men’s World Cup – report

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Set to chase 266, India could accumulate 259 before being bundled out in the final over despite Shubman Gill’s century.

Gill waged a lone battle for India with a 133-ball 121 which featured eight boundaries and five sixes.

Besides him, Axar Patel, who kept India in the hunt until the penultimate, was the other notable run-getter for India with a gutsy 42-run knock, laced with three boundaries and two sixes.

Mustafizur Rahman led the bowling attack for Bangladesh in their farewell Asia Cup 2023 fixture with 3/50 while debutant Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mahedi Hasan bagged two each.

Put into bat first, Bangladesh put on a decent total on the board at the back of a combined effort, led by their skipper Shakib.

Bangladesh, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as the Indian pacers ran through their top order to leave them reeling at 28/3 in 5.4 overs.

Came out to bat at number five, skipper Shakib attempted to stabilize Bangladesh’s innings as he put together a brief partnership with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who fell after a scratchy 13-run knock.

Following the slump, Shakib Al Hasan finally found subtle support at the other end in the form of Towhid Hridoy and they soon launched an astounding recovery.

The pair put together 101 runs for the fifth wicket before Shardul Thakur castled Shakib in the 34th over.

He remained the top-scorer for Bangladesh in the last Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s match with an 85-ball 80 which featured six boundaries and three sixes.

Bangladesh were then rocked with another blow as Ravindra Jadeja trapped Shamim Hossain (1) trapped in his legs in the next over.

However, Towhid Hridoy stood his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking before finally perishing in the 42nd over, briefly after completing his half-century.

He scored a cautious 54 off 81 balls with the help of five boundaries and two sixes.

Nasum Ahmed then took the reigns of Bangladesh’s batting charge after Hridoy’s dismissal and frustrated the Indian bowlers at the backend.

Ahmed played a brisk 44-run knock which featured six boundaries and a six.

He was also involved in a crucial 45-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Mahedi Hasan, who scored 29 not out.

Shardul Thakur led the bowling attack for India in the last Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s fixture with 3/65, followed by Mohammed Shami’s 2/32.

Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Prasidh Krishna, on the other hand, made one scalp each.

READ: Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan squad to depart from Colombo today

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PLAYING XIs

Bangladesh: Litton Das (wk), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 39, India 31, Bangladesh 7, NR 1

Asia Cup ODI: Matches 12, India 11, Bangladesh 1

READ: Sri Lanka set up Asia Cup 2023 final with India as Pakistan crash out

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Chasing a revised target of 252 in the reduced 42 overs, Sri Lanka needed to chase eight runs off Zaman Khan, bowling the final over, and amassed the total when Charith Asalanka chipped one down to the square leg on the final delivery.

Sri Lanka had a shaky start to the run chase as Kusal Perera fell for an eight-ball 17, courtesy of Shadab Khan’s direct hit.

Coming out to bat at number three, Kusal Mendis joined Pathum Nissanka (29) and they added a valuable 57-run partnership for the second wicket until Shadab Khan got the opener caught and bowled.

Sri Lanka were 77/2 in 13.2 overs when Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama put together a 100-run stand to put their side in complete command.

Samarawickrama, however, fell just two short of his well-deserved half-century as he scored a 51-ball 48, hitting four boundaries.

Joining set batter Kusal Mendis in the middle, Charith Asalanka made sure to keep Sri Lanka in momentum as he knitted an anchoring 33-run partnership.

Mendis, however, was outclassed by Iftikhar Ahmed as he fell for a gutsy 91 off 87 deliveries, which featured eight boundaries and a six.

His dismissal glimmered a ray of hope for Pakistan as their bowlers scripted their comeback by picking up late wickets.

Meanwhile, Asalanka, standing his ground firm denied Pakistan to snatch the victory as he scored the winning runs for Sri Lanka on the final delivery.

He scored an unbeaten 49 off 47 balls, hitting three boundaries and a six.

Iftikhar Ahmed led the bowling attack for Pakistan with three wickets, followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi, bagging two while Shadab Khan made one scalp.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan raised a commendable total of 252/7 after the all-important Asia Cup 2023 fixture was reduced to 42 overs a side due to rain interruption.

The hosts once again got off to a shaky start to their innings as their out-of-form opener Fakhar Zaman (4) failed to score big and was castled by Pramod Madushan in the fourth over with just nine runs on the board.

Following the early dismissal, Pakistan captain Babar Azam joined Abdullah Shafique at the crease and the pair knitted an anchoring 64-run partnership.

The duo of Babar and Abdullah had put Pakistan in a strong position before Dunith Wellalage got Babar stumped to mark Sri Lanka’s comeback.

Babar scored 29 off 35 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.

Pakistan’s mainstay with the bat Abdullah Shafique soon followed his captain back to the pavilion after Matheesha Pathirana stunned him with a short delivery soon after he amassed his maiden half-century.

Abdullah Shafique smashed three boundaries and two sixes on his way to a 69-ball 52.

Pakistan found themselves in a state of bother as they lost two more wickets in quick succession.

Consequently, the Babar-led side slipped to 130/5 in 27.4 overs as returning Mohammad Haris (3) and Mohammad Nawaz (12) perished cheaply.

With the hosts in heaps of trouble in their must-win Asia Cup 2023 match, wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan joined forces with Iftikhar Ahmed and launched an astounding recovery.

Rizwan and Iftikhar turned the game on its head with a brisk 108-run partnership for the sixth wicket which ended when the latter perished in the penultimate over.

Iftikhar fell just three short of his half-century, scoring 47 off just 40 deliveries, hitting four boundaries and two sixes.

Mohammad Rizwan, however, carried his bat all the way through and top-scored for Pakistan with an unbeaten 86-run knock from 73 deliveries, laced up with six boundaries and two sixes.

Matheesha Pathirana led the bowling attack for Sri Lanka in an all-important Asia Cup 2023 fixture with 3/65 in his eight overs, followed by Pramod Madushan’s 2/58.

Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage made one scalp each.

READ: Pakistan spin web to book South Africa on 185 in the third Women’s ODI

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SL 252/8 (42 Overs)

Zaman Khan bowls the final over

SL 244/7 (41 Overs)

Shaheen bowls the penultimate over

SL 240/5 (40 Overs)

Zaman comes to bowl

SL 232/5 (39 Overs)

Shaheen continues

SL 224/5 (38 Overs)

Iftikhar continues

SL 219/4 (37 Overs)

Shaheen returns

SL 216/4 (36 Overs)

Iftikhar again

SL 210/3 (35 Overs)

Shadab bowls his last

SL 208/3 (34 Overs)

Iftikhar bowls

SL 196/3 (33 Overs)

Shadab replaces Zaman

SL 194/3 (32 Overs)

Iftikhar continues

SL 187/3 (31 Overs)

Zaman comes back

SL 179/3 (30 Overs)

Iftikhar replaces Shaheen

SL 175/2 (29 Overs)

Shadab continues

SL 167/2 (28 Overs)

Shaheen continues

SL 160/2 (27 Overs)

Shadab replaces Nawaz

SL 154/2 (26 Overs)

Shaheen comes back

SL 149/2 (25 Overs)

Nawaz continues

SL 145/2 (24 Overs)

Iftikhar again

SL 139/2 (23 Overs)

Nawaz replaces Wasim Jr

SL 134/2 (22 Overs)

Iftikhar continues

SL 132/2 (21 Overs)

Wasim Jr continues

SL 124/2 (20 Overs)

Iftikhar Ahmed into the attack

SL 116/2 (19 Overs)

Wasim Jr returns

SL 111/2 (18 Overs)

Shadab bowls from Khettarama End

SL 97/2 (17 Overs)

Nawaz again

SL 96/2 (16 Overs)

Shadab continues

SL 89/2 (15 Overs)

Nawaz continues to bowl

SL 83/2 (14 Overs)

Shadab bowls

SL 77/1 (13 Overs)

Nawaz bowls his third

SL 70/1 (12 Overs)

Shadab continues

SL 65/1 (11 Overs)

Nawaz continues

SL 62/1 (10 Overs)

More spin as Shadab Khan comes on

SL 57/1 (9 Overs)

Mohammad Nawaz into the attack now

SL 56/1 (8 Overs)

Mohammad Wasim Jr comes into the attack

SL 43/1 (7 Overs)

Shaheen bowls from Maligawatte End

SL 36/1 (6 Overs)

Zaman again

SL 32/1 (5 Overs)

Shaheen bowls

SL 28/1 (4 Overs)

3.2: Kusal chops this square on the offside and hesitates as Nissanka calls for the quick single. Shadab Khan comes haring in, picks it up and hits the timber at the non-striker’s end.

Zaman continues

SL 16/0 (3 Overs)

Shaheen continues

SL 11/0 (2 Overs)

Zaman Khan to bowl from the other end

SL 11/0 (1 Over)

Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera come out to open for Sri Lanka. Shaheen Shah Afridi to bowl the first over.

PAKISTAN vs SRI LANKA (2nd INNINGS)

COLOMBO: Mohammad Rizwan played a sensible 86-run knock and guided Pakistan to 252/7 in the must-win Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s fixture against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

PAK 252/7 (42 Overs)

Madushan bowls the final over

PAK 242/6 (41 Overs)

Pathirana bowls

PAK 235/5 (40 Overs)

Madushan comes back

PAK 221/5 (39 Overs)

Theekshana bowls his last

PAK 209/5 (38 Overs)

Pathirana continues

PAK 197/5 (37 Overs)

Theekshana continues

PAK 192/5 (36 Overs)

Pathirana comes back

PAK 184/5 (35 Overs)

Theekshana replaced Madushan

PAK 178/5 (34 Overs)

Wellalage to bowl his last

PAK 168/5 (33 Overs)

Madushan replaces de Silva

PAK 150/5 (32 Overs)

Wellalage continues

PAK 145/5 (31 Overs)

Dhananjaya bowls

PAK 138/5 (30 Overs)

Wellalage returns

PAK 135/5 (29 Overs)

Dhananjaya continues

PAK 133/5 (28 Overs)

Theekshana continues his over

The covers are off. The game has been reduced to 42 overs. There will be a 20-minute innings break, while the Powerplays will be in overs 9, 25 and 8. Three bowlers will be able to bowl eight overs, while two bowlers can bowl up to nine overs.

Rain halts the action

PAK 130/5 (27.4 Overs)

Theekshana replaces Pathirana

PAK 128/4 (27 Overs)

Dhananjaya de Silva bowls

PAK 122/4 (26 Overs)

Pathirana again

PAK 109/4 (25 Overs)

Dhananjaya de Silva again

PAK 108/4 (24 Overs)

Pathirana continues

PAK 103/3 (23 Overs)

Dhananjaya de Silva continues

PAK 100/3 (22 Overs)

21.4: This was dug in short on off, Shafique goes for the pull but only manages to top edge straight to the man at deep square leg.

Pathirana replaces Wellalage

PAK 97/2 (21 Overs)

Dhananjaya de Silva into the attack

PAK 88/2 (20 Overs)

Wellalaga bowls again

PAK 86/2 (19 Overs)

Theekshana bowls

PAK 83/2 (18 Overs)

Wellalage again

PAK 75/2 (17 Overs)

Theekshana continues

PAK 73/2 (16 Overs)

15.6: Wellalage tosses it up around off stump. Babar strides forward but the ball pitches and turns away and Mendis flicks off the bails in a jiffy.

Wellalage replaces Pathirana

PAK 72/1 (15 Overs)

Theekshana replaces Wellalage

PAK 68/1 (14 Overs)

Pathirana continues

PAK 58/1 (13 Overs)

Wellalage again

PAK 56/1 (12 Overs)

Matheesha Pathirana into the attack

PAK 48/1 (11 Overs)

Wellalage continues

PAK 40/1 (10 Overs)

Shanaka again

PAK 36/1 (9 Overs)

Dunith Wellalage comes into the attack

PAK 35/1 (8 Overs)

Shanaka continues

PAK 27/1 (7 Overs)

Madushan continues to bowl

PAK 19/1 (6 Overs)

Dasun Shanaka comes into the attack

PAK 13/1 (5 Overs)

Madushan again

PAK 9/0 (4 Overs)

Theekshana continues from the other end

PAK 6/0 (3 Overs)

Madushan continues

PAK 2/0 (2 Overs)

Maheesh Theekshana to bowl from the other end

PAK 0/0 (1 Over)

Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman come out to open the innings. Pramod Madushan to bowl the first over.

PAKISTAN vs SRI LANKA (1st INNINGS)

COLOMBO: Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the eleventh match of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan make two changes to their already-announced Playing XI as Imam-ul-Haq has a back spasm and back in comes Fakhar Zaman. Saud Shakeel has a fever, in comes Abdullah Shafique. For Sri Lanka, Kusal Perera and Pramod Madushan are in.

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafique, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Zaman Khan.

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 155, Pakistan 92, Sri Lanka 58, NR 4, Tie 1

Asia Cup ODI: Matches 15, Pakistan 4, Sri Lanka 11

READ: Pakistan, India set for rematch but rain threat persists despite reserve day

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