Pakistan wins toss and opts to bat first in rain-delayed Asia Cup against Sri Lanka
In the fifth game of the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against Sri Lanka after a two-hour delay due to rain.
In the fifth match of the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan faced a two-hour delay due to rain. Following the toss, Pakistan elected to bat first against Sri Lanka at the R. Premdasa Stadium in Colombo.
The match, which was reduced to 45 overs per side, began at 5:15 pm local time, with the powerplay overs limited to 9 overs for each team.
Pakistan had to make several changes to their playing XI. Zaman Khan made his debut in One Day Internationals (ODIs), receiving his maiden ODI cap. Imam-ul-Haq was unable to play due to a back spasm, allowing Fakhar Zaman to return to the lineup. Saud Shakeel, who was suffering from a fever, was replaced by Abdullah Shafiq.
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For Sri Lanka, Kusal Perera and Pramod Madushan were included in the team, taking the places of Dimuth Karunaratne and Kasun Rajitha.
After winning the toss, Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, expressed the team’s decision to bat first. He stated that they aimed to set a target and put pressure on Sri Lanka, emphasizing that the pitch might behave differently in the second innings.
Sri Lanka’s captain, Dasun Shanaka, mentioned that they would have chosen to bowl first in any case. He explained that the pitch might offer more assistance to spinners, and despite having batting opportunities in previous matches, they couldn’t capitalize on them.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Haris, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Zaman Khan
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana
-IANS
