Sri Lanka has the potential to surprise Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on Sunday, despite local problems. They have a track record of eliminating giants.
The island nation’s plans to host the Twenty20 competition had to be abandoned due to political unrest, as they lost their opening match to Afghanistan by eight wickets with little under ten overs remaining.
However, the five-time champions came back to defeat arch-rivals Pakistan and Rohit Sharma’s team in the finals, as well as tournament favorites Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and India.
The final Super Four game on Friday served as a practice run for the Dubai final, and Sri Lanka won for the fourth time in a row despite Pakistan missing two of its important players. They will depend on the spin team of Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahesh Theekshana on Sunday after helping them defeat Pakistan by five wickets on Friday by bowling them out for 121.
The opening batsman, Pathum Nissanka, led the batting attack with an unbeaten 55 in a brilliant performance, but captain Dasun Shanaka warned his team not to get complacent.
After four straight victories, Shanaka told reporters, “We have a lot of confidence, but we still don’t take Pakistan lightly in the final.
We should be prepared for that because we know they are a very good team with enough strong players to come back strongly.
Before the final, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said the match was a “wonderful learning experience.”
