With India emerging as the overwhelming tournament favourite, the Asia Cup has resembled a contest to determine the continent’s ‘second-best’ team. With a spot in the final of the line, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will fight it out for a claim to that honorific when they meet in the third Super Four contest at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.
Coming off defeats to India and Bangladesh, respectively, only a win can ensure Pakistan and Sri Lanka have their destiny in their hand. The losing team will remain alive, but only mathematically, and will rely on favourable results as well as Net Run Rate permutations to go its way.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s fates are tied as much as their past. They endured a match-turning slowdown in the middle-overs after a bright PowerPlay in their previous defeats. Both batting lineups have also exhibited a susceptibility to collapses against unfancied teams, with Pakistan’s middle-order being rocked by the UAE and Sri Lanka almost frittering away a winning position against Hong Kong.
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With uncertainty lingering lower down the order, the onus to deliver will be on in-form Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan [132 runs] and his Sri Lankan counterpart Pathum Nissanka [146].
The surfaces here, unlike those in Dubai, have suited the quicks more, and both sides are likely to stick to their strategy of picking two specialist seamers, backed up by a seam-bowling all-rounder.
Sri Lanka has won two matches here earlier in the tournament, and its familiarity with the conditions may give it an edge.
The teams:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (c), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Binura Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Janith Liyanage, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem, Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz.
Match starts at 8 PM IST.
Published on Sep 22, 2025
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