Sports
Sri Lanka clinch Asia Cup for the 6th time after stunning win
Sri Lanka emerged Asia Cup champions for the sixth time with a 23-run win over the more-fancied Pakistan in Dubai. Central to the title win was a counter-attacking batting effort from Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71* off 45) and Wanindu Hasaranga (36 off 21), who lifted Sri Lanka from 58/5 and set 171 for Pakistan, a target that proved too tall for Babar Azam and Co on the night. They were bowled out for 147 in 20 overs as Sri Lanka brought up five consecutive T20Is wins for the first time since April 2014.
How the toss spiced things up
Coming into this final, Sri Lanka’s only loss in the tournament came when they batted first. To be fair, it wasn’t a one-off instance of them failing to put a total on the board; since the 2021 T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka had lost all the seven matches they batted first in. Furthermore, the venue only multiplied the challenge on offer – teams chasing in Dubai had won 26 of the last 30 games leading into this final. So when the coin fell Pakistan’s way, it pitted Sri Lanka’s bat-first limitations against Pakistan’s grey chasing record, making for a fascinating contest.
Just how did SL get to 58/5?
Pakistan were just too good with their pace upfront. Naseem Shah, steaming in, rattled Kusal Mendis’s stumps in the opening over but more pace awaited them in the form of Harif Rauf, who notched up pace in excess of 150 and picked the wickets of Pathum Nissanka (caught at mid-off) and Danushka Gunathilaka (bowled). Things went from bad to worse when Iftikhar Ahmed got rid of Dhananjaya de Silva, who had hitherto looked Sri Lanka’s best batter.
Now let’s talk about that partnership
Looking back, Pakistan were taken aback by that counterattacking partnership between Wanindu Hasaranga and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. The duo added 58 runs off 36 balls for the sixth wicket. Hasaranga, in particular, was aggressive against pace and spin alike, and even hit Rauf for two consecutive boundaries before edging one to the keeper. Rajapaksa then took control, finishing with 6 fours and 3 sixes and helping his side add 53/0 in the last five overs. It was only the second time in eight T20Is in 2022 Sri Lanka managed 150+ batting first.
Pakistan could have restricted them for fewer?
Yes.. The pitch had good bounce for shot-making but also had enough in it for the bowlers. But Babar Azam instead of attacking Sri Lanka at five-down, allowed Rajapaksa-Hasaranga to get their eyes in against three overs of spin.
Pakistan’s fielding in the last five overs didn’t help either. Rajapaksa was dropped twice, first by Shadab Khan on 49 at long-on before he collided with Asif Ali at deep mid-wicket and made for another drop. In contrast, Sri Lanka took all the catches that came their way, which at Dubai’s ‘Ring of Fire’ stadium isn’t always easy.
Pakistan and chase: what went wrong today?
Babar Azam’s form and Mohammad Rizwan’s slow-cooked fifty that lacked impetus to chase something like 171 in a high-pressure final. Looking back, Pakistan weren’t able to counterattack when they lost Babar (caught at short fine leg) and Fakhar Zaman (chopped on) off consecutive balls to Pramod Madushan (who finished with 4 for 34). Both Iftikhar Ahmed and Rizwan were slow to get off the blocks and it meant that Pakistan were only 68/2 at the halfway mark. To be fair to the duo, they had done well against Hasaranga, picking 25 runs off his first three overs but his fourth, it can be said, all but decided the match. Three wickets fell in that over; that of a well-set Rizwan (55 off 49), Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah, and it all led to Pakistan being bowled out for 147 in 20 overs. (cricbuzz)
[Cricbuzz]
Why did David Miller refuse a single off the penultimate delivery with Delhi Capitals needing 2 off 2? It’ll be spoken of for a while, but not inside the Gujarat Titans change room. Because Prasidh Krishna bowled a nerveless slower bouncer off the final delivery that Miller missed, and Jos Buttler then nailed a direct hit with an underarm throw from behind the stumps to run out Kuldeep Yadav, clinching a dramatic first win for GT in IPL 2026.
Despite being adjudged run out on the field, Miller wasn’t in the mood to concede defeat, and reviewed the final ball for a possible wide. But when replays confirmed what he had perhaps known, he was crestfallen. Equally distraught in the dugout was K L Rahul, whose 52-ball 92 set the game up for DC but for one run.
It was GT’s first win of the tournament and the first loss for DC after starting the campaign with two wins in a row.
Thirty-six needed off 12. A bruised finger that didn’t make it easy for him to grip the bat had forced Miller to retire hurt with DC needing 81 off 42. But when Tristan Stubbs was run-out in the 17th over, Miller returned hoping to play second fiddle to Rahul. Instead, he was now expected to deliver a box-office hit with Rahul nicking behind off a full Mohammed Siraj delivery two balls later.
Miller nearly delivered what was expected, as he went 6, 4, 6 off Siraj, repeatedly peppering the short leg-side boundary. At the other end, Vipraj Nigam also ramped four off a short delivery to bring the equation down to a manageable 13 off the final over.
Prasidh was tasked to bowl the final over. His three overs prior to that had been walloped for 41; Rahul, his state mate, had climbed into him earlier in the night. But all that would’ve been forgiven if Prasidh delivered a gun final over. That GT could only have four fielders out due to a slow over rate added to his challenge. And he nearly succumbed.
Nigam made room and swung cleanly to hit the first ball to the long-off fence, but a rush of blood had him swipe the second delivery to Shubman Gill at mid-off. With DC now needing nine off four, Kuldeep gently deflected his first ball to deep third to leave the chase in Miller’s hands.
With the equation down to 8 off 3, Prasidh bowled a slot-ball that Miller walloped over long-off. But with two needed, Miller inexplicably refused a single to take it all upon himself to finish the deal. He couldn’t connect on the final ball, and Prasidh belted a roar. GT had pulled one from under DC’s rug in dramatic circumstances.
After scores of 1 and 0 in his first two games, Rahul announced himself with a 29-ball half-century that was as pleasing as they come for large parts. It was also one that didn’t have the baggage of him playing run-accumulator, like he has tended to in the past while opening the batting. This Rahul was fun, free and fearless and he helped DC overcome a few roadblocks along the way, like when they lost two wickets in two deliveries to Rashid Khan at the halfway mark.
Rahul was particularly menacing against the fast bowlers, and it began with a wristy flick that he sent way back over deep square off Kagiso Rabada. The early jitters out of the way – if he even had some inkling of them – he batted like a man possessed, fearlessly climbing into length balls from Prasidh over cover, and slapping disdainfully over point.
He is good, but where is the Rashid of old, they asked. Turns out he hadn’t gone anywhere. After he conceded just nine in his first two with DC rampant, he returned to dismiss Nitish Rana in his dramatic third over, the 10th of the innings. Having been given out lbw earlier, only for Rana to overturn the decision through DRS, he was out a few balls later when he miscued a googly to Sai Sudharsan at long-off. This was Rana’s third sub-20 score of the season.
This brought the in-form Sameer Rizvi to the middle, and he lasted all of one delivery as Rashid snuck through his inside-edge with a ripping googly to briefly elicit jitters in the DC camp. This is when Miller entered, before briefly exiting with seven overs left. But in the same over, when Rashid had Axar Patel slice one to Glenn Phillips running back from cover, GT started to have an opening.
On any other night, Rashid’s spell would have cracked open the game. The fact that DC were still in it despite these wickets was down to Rahul. It needed the skilful Siraj to dismiss him with DC needing 45 off three overs. By then, the pressure was telling.
That GT were eventually able to get over the line was down to their run cushion, made possible thanks to half-centuries from Jos Buttler, Gill and Washington Sundar. Buttler looked unshackled, hitting four sixes off his first 15 deliveries en route a bruising half-century, while Gill played himself in and then allayed fears of neck spasms during his takedown of Kuldeep with the slog sweep. Then Washington, promoted to No. 4, struck his maiden IPL fifty to shore up the innings.
Even so, GT managed just 49 off the last five. On another day, this may have proved to be costly. It didn’t on Wednesday, and for that, they have Rashid to thank.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 12, Shubman Gill 70, Jos Buttler 52, Washington Sundar 55, Glenn Phillips 14*; Mukesh Kumar 2-55, Lungi Ngidi 1-24, Kuldeep Yadav 1-42 ) beat Delhi Capitals 209 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 41, KL Rahul 92, David Miller 41*, Vipraj Nigam 12; Mohammed Siraj 1-42, Rashid Khan 3-17, Prasidh Krishna 2-52) by one run
[Cricinfo]
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