The Asia Cup final 2023 will occur at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo, at 3:00 PM IST on Sep 17. India qualified for the final by winning Group A, while Sri Lanka advanced after beating Pakistan in Super 4.
Asia Cup Final Team
Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan to qualify for the Asia Cup final, while India emerged victorious from Group A. The final match will occur at Colombo’s R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium on September 17, 2023 between IND vs SL. It should prove both close and intense – India hopes to avenge their defeat at last year’s final against Sri Lanka, while Sri Lanka hopes to defend their title in 2022!
Asia Cup Final Match Location
India and Sri Lanka will face off on Sunday, September 17, at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the Asia Cup Final.
Sri Lanka Reaches Two Consecutive Asia Cup Finals
Charith Asalanka held his nerve to lead Sri Lanka into another Asia Cup final after an impressive two-wicket win against an injured Pakistan team on Thursday.
Asalanka needed six runs off two balls against debutant pacer Zaman Khan to score six runs off 42 overs-a-side Super 4 match against Sri Lanka after rain was reduced and ended on 252-8 after reaching 383-9 after reaching the third man boundary with the third ball edge to third man for two more runs and then turning pacer square leg for two more. Sri Lanka won after reduced rainfall.
On Sunday, Sri Lanka and India will face each other in the final. Asalanka made an unbeaten 49 from 47 balls, helping Sri Lanka survive two overs from Zaman and experienced Shaheen Shahafridi (2-5).
Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka’s captain, said: “We allowed the team to recover, but Charith kept his nerve.” Dasun added that involvement in two consecutive finals “was truly unforgettable”. Afridi’s penultimate delivery was spectacular. He picked off Dhananjaya De Silva and Dunith Welalage off consecutive deliveries while conceding only four runs – an outstanding performance from an arm-fast bowler!
Zaman conceded only two runs off his first four balls and ran Pramod Madushan out before Asalanka brought almost 35,000 home fans at R. Premadasa Stadium to their feet by hitting an unconvincing final delivery that brought cheers of joy from those present.
Babar Azam, captain of Pakistan, commented that they did not perform well with either bowling or fielding during their win in this match. They had an outstanding start and finish but felt their middle overs could have been more impressive. Sri Lanka capitalized on Pakistan’s diminished bowling attack due to the absence of critical fast bowlers such as Naseem Shah and Haris Raf due to injury and Faheem Asraf due to poor performance.
Kusal Mendis scored 91 runs off 87 deliveries to share in a century stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama’s 48 runs off 56 deliveries, Zaman and Mohammad Wasim powerless to stem the run-flow. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan made multiple mistakes with length by bowling an abundance of full tosses, resulting in him bowling 1-55 himself.
Mohammad Haris made a spectacular catch at short cover, diving to his left as the ball flew off of Mendis by off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmad. Mohammad Rizwan scored 86 runs off 73 deliveries, while Ahmed made 47. Both players received reprieves before beginning their innings.
Rains that have interrupted Super 4 matches in Colombo once more delayed the toss before play was reduced from 45 overs a side. Due to illness, Pakistan had to withdraw Imam-ul-Haq from their team, opting instead to bat after winning the toss and choosing Abdullah Shafique as their opening batsman after Fakhar Zaman’s struggles in the Asia Cup continued. Madushan clean bowled Fakhar Zaman for four runs in his debut match of this tournament.
Babar (29) restored Pakistan’s innings following his 64-run stand with Shafique before Wellalage had him caught off a clever delivery that spun sharply off its trajectory and sent it directly back for him to strike out at Haris and Mohammad Nawaz, leaving Pakistan at 130-5 after 28 overs. After nearly 30 minutes of delay, Rizwan and Ahmed aggressively attacked fast bowlers Matheesha (3-65) and Madushan (2-48).
Outside Edge and Four! SL Must Win with Two Last Balls to Succeed
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka live score: All it takes to send this match into Super Over is one run from Asalanka hitting an outside edge foolish delivery with no obvious slips from Rizwan as he stands well beyond Rizwan’s reach and Rizwan is beyond Rizwan’s grasp and so the ball goes into the boundary; Pakistan now have to come up with something quickly or face the consequences – Babar can talk all he likes with Zaman while Asalanka (who at 47!) will face off against this young fast bowler; who are only competing to secure two wins before Pakistan take a batting post-super Over but now asia cup final match happen between India and Sri Lanka.
Also Read: THE ROAD TO VICTORY: INDIA’S WORLD CUP 2023 SQUAD
