SL vs HK: Sri Lanka Grabs 4 Wicket Win in Asia Cup 2025

SL vs HK: Sri Lanka had a decent chase to beat Hong Kong by four wickets in a Group Stage Asia Cup 2025 match, played at the Dubai International Stadium. The victory is Sri Lanka’s second successive one, while the hopes of Hong Kong advancing to the Super Four have completely faded following successive losses.

Nissanka Anchors Sri Lanka’s Chase with Composed 68

Pursuing a difficult target of 150 on a sticky pitch, Sri Lanka were shaken in the early stages by the fall of Kusal Mendis and Kamil Mishara. But under pressure, opener Pathum Nissanka rose to the occasion with a mature, well-paced innings of 68 from 44 deliveries.

His 57-run partnership with Kusal Perera (20) set the pace for Sri Lanka to settle in the middle overs, as they were going at a slow pace from the 65/2 10 overs mark. Nissanka, dropped twice on 40 and 60 took full advantage of his lifeline and played freely, hitting the ball well, and used the square leg area for his boundaries.

Middle-Order Collapse Gives Hong Kong a Glimmer of Hope

Just when it seemed Sri Lanka was coasting to victory at 119/2, Hong Kong’s bowling attack struck back by picking up four wickets for only eight runs. Nissanka, Perera, Kamindu Mendis and skipper Charith Asalanka were dismissed to leave the islanders in disarray at 127/6. The match had suddenly come to life, with Hong Kong looking to pull off a massive upset in the SL vs HK, Asia Cup 2025 match.

Hasaranga’s Cooler Cameo Lands Sri Lanka the Victory in SL vs HK

As the pressure mounted, and with only 23 runs needed in the last 3 overs, Wanindu Hasaranga was as cool as ever. The experienced all-rounder contributed a rapid 20 not out off only 9 balls to help seal the match for Sri Lanka, who comfortably chased down 153/6 in only 18.5 overs to win by 7 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka (T: 150 runs from 20 ovs)

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Pathum Nissanka	run out (Yasim Murtaza/Shahid Wasif)	68	44	69	6	2	154.54
Kusal Mendis	c Anshuman Rath b Shukla	11	14	17	2	0	78.57
Kamil Mishara	c Babar Hayat b Aizaz Khan	19	18	22	1	1	105.55
Kusal Perera	lbw b Yasim Murtaza	20	16	29	1	1	125.00
Dasun Shanaka	not out	6	3	20	1	0	200.00
Charith Asalanka (c)	c Shukla b Ehsan Khan	2	5	4	0	0	40.00
Kamindu Mendis	c Babar Hayat b Yasim Murtaza	5	5	3	0	0	100.00
Wanindu Hasaranga	not out	20	9	8	2	1	222.22
Extras	(lb 1, nb 1)	2
Total	18.5 Ov (RR: 8.12)	153/6

Hong Kong Posts Competitive Score Due to Nizakat and Rath

Hong Kong (20 ovs maximum)

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Zeeshan Ali	c †BKG Mendis b Chameera	23	17	26	2	0	135.29
Anshy Rath	c PHKD Mendis b Chameera	48	46	75	4	0	104.34
Babar Hayat	st †BKG Mendis b Hasaranga	4	10	14	0	0	40.00
Nizakat Khan	not out	52	38	55	4	2	136.84
Yasim Murtaza (c)	c Chameera b Shanaka	5	4	9	1	0	125.00
Aizaz Khan	not out	4	6	13	0	0	66.66
Extras	(b 1, lb 7, nb 1, w 4)	13
Total	20 Ov (RR: 7.45)	149/4

Hong Kong batted first after being sent in and posted a respectable total of 149 for 4 in 20 overs. Captain Nizakat Khan was in good form, contributing a classic 52 off 38 balls, while Anshuman Rath made a breezy 48. Together the two batters offered a solid 61-run third-wicket partnership that held their innings together during the middle overs.

Zeeshan Ali provided critical runs in the early stages of the innings and scored 23 from 13 balls and pushed Hong Kong to 38/0 after 4 overs. However, Sri Lanka regained the control of the innings with Dushmantha Chameera (2-29) and Wanindu Hasaranga (1 wicket) tightening things between the middle and end of the innings.