Dubai

Pathum Nissanka's brilliant unbeaten 55-run knock guided Sri Lanka to an easy five-wicket victory over Pakistan in their Super Four clash in the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The two teams will once again face each other in the final of the tournament on Sunday.

For Pakistan Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf bagged two wickets each.

Chasing 122 runs, Sri Lanka got off to the worst start as they lost star opener Kusal Mendis in the second over of the match. Sri Lanka were dealt with another blow as Danushka Gunathilaka went back to the pavilion without scoring a run.

At that point, Sri Lanka were at 2-2. Dhananjaya de Silva then tried to play some big shots but fell prey to Haris Rauf, scoring 9 runs in 12 balls.

Pathum Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa then tried to anchor Sri Lanka's innings as they smashed big shots while taking singles. While playing the much-needed innings Nissanka brought up his half-century in 41 deliveries.

After the 14th over of the match, Sri Lanka needed 30 runs in 36 balls. The duo of Nissanka and Shanaka joined hands and helped their team cross the 100-run mark. However, Shanaka was sent packing by Mohammad Hasnain after scoring 21 runs in 16 balls.

Wanindu Hasaranga then came to the crease and smashed two fours in Mohammad Hasnain’s 17^th over.

Hasaranga smashed a big four in the last delivery of the 17^th over to take his team home against Pakistan and clinched the match by five wickets.

Earlier, Wanindu Hasaranga dramatically turned the tide in Sri Lanka's favour by taking two consecutive wickets and dismissing Iftikhar Ahmed and Asif Ali.

As Pakistan struggles to score, Dhananjaya de Silva took Khushdil Shah's wicket. Wanindu Hasaranga bowled out Babar Azam after he failed to provide a great performance.

Chamika Karunaratne grabbed Fakhar Zaman's wicket after Wanindu Hasaranga took a spectacular catch on the boundary line. Pakistan got back on track after the removal of Mohammad Rizwan, with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman hitting some nice strokes.

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Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 121 in 19.1 overs with Babar Azam the highest scorer with 30 runs.