Mohammad Nawaz and Hussain Talat staged a stirring fightback to keep Pakistan’s hopes alive as Salman Agha’s team beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in a crucial Super Four game at the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Chasing a modest 134, Pakistan found themselves in trouble after losing their fifth wicket at 80 in the 12th over.
Despite their impressive strike rate, Pakistan was in danger of running out of steam in the hot and humid conditions.
However, a brilliant 58-run unbroken sixth-wicket partnership between Nawaz (38 not out off 24 balls, 3 fours and 3 sixes) and Talat (32 not out off 30 balls, 4 fours) secured Pakistan’s victory with 12 balls to spare.
Having lost the first Super Four game against India, Pakistan is now back in the race for the final.
Earlier, pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi (4-0-28-3) and Talat (3-0-18-2) performed superbly with the ball for Pakistan.
Even more impressive was spinner Abrar Ahmed, who conceded just eight runs from his four overs while taking the wicket of Sri Lankan bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga.
Despite their second straight defeat in the Super Four, Sri Lanka still has a slim chance of reaching the final, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Sri Lanka needs Bangladesh to win their two remaining games — against India and Pakistan — and they must beat India by a large margin.
There are many uncertainties for Sri Lanka, but Pakistan will be confident of beating Bangladesh in their last Super Four game on Thursday for a place in Sunday’s final.
