Thursday Oct 02, 2025
Thursday Oct 02, 2025
Tuesday, 23 September 2025 02:33 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka players train for today’s all-important contest against Pakistan
ABU DHABI: Sri Lanka go into their second Super Four match against Pakistan at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here today, knowing that it’s a must-win contest for them if they are to keep alive their Asia Cup hopes of reaching the final.
“Everyone knows that it’s a must-win game for us. It’s an all-important Super Four game because we lost badly to Bangladesh,” said Sri Lanka Captain Charith Asalanka at the pre-match media conference. “We have to forget that game and keep moving because if we win the two remaining games, we can get into the final.”
During the match against Bangladesh, which Sri Lanka lost by 4 wickets, the lack of a fifth specialist bowler was glaringly exposed, and Asalanka spoke about including a fifth bowler for today’s game.
“Pakistan have more left-handers in their line-up, so there could be a change with the spinners. We are still discussing whether to go with five bowlers – an extra bowling all-rounder – because when we are defending a total, we find that we have experienced some difficulty. On occasions like that, I myself find it difficult to handle the situation when one of our main four bowlers goes for runs. There is the possibility of an extra bowling all-rounder coming in.”
On promoting Dasun Shanaka up the batting order, Asalanka said: “Dasun and I play a floating role depending on the situation. We have four left-handers in our side: Kusal Perera, Kamil Mishara, Kamindu Mendis, and me. That can become advantageous to other teams; that’s why we promoted Dasun up the order and he showed what he can do.”
Sri Lanka Captain Charith Asalanka addressing the pre-match media conference
Shanaka was optimistic about Sri Lanka reaching the final.
“We have Pakistan and India; if we can win with a good run rate, we can qualify for the final. We are always on the positive side. I always say that with the team that we have, and with the experience, we can always bounce back and reach the final. We should not get discouraged by the loss to Bangladesh. That’s what’s important.”
Abu Dhabi has been a favourite ground for Sri Lanka, having won all five T20I matches played at this venue.
“The Abu Dhabi wicket assists the batsmen and fast bowlers more than the spinners. Abu Dhabi is a pitch where you can score runs,” said Asalanka.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have not met in a T20I for the past three years. The last two occasions they met were in the 2022 T20 Asia Cup in Dubai, where Sri Lanka went on to defeat Pakistan twice, including in the final. Sri Lanka has won the last five T20I contests played between the two countries. But overall, Pakistan lead 13-10.
