Powered by Wanindu Hasaranga's magic with the ball and Nissanka's fifty with the bat, Sri Lanka cruised past Pakistan to win the dress rehearsal before the final by five wickets.
Sri Lanka won the toss and put Pakistan to bat first. Batting first, Pakistan lost Rizwan early and just couldn't get going after that. Babar Azam threatened to hurt SL, but Hasaranga sent him back just in time. Nawaz hit some lusty blows on his way to 26 off 18 deliveries, but Pakistan eventually finished with a below-par total of 121.
Chasing 122, Pakistan breathed fire and sent two Sri Lankan batters back in no time. At one time, SL were reeling at 2-2. Silva too didn't last long and was sent back for just 9 runs, with Sri Lanka still at 29/3. Nissanka held on end up and hit a gritty fifty to keep his team in the game.
Rajapaksha came in and struck a quickfire 24 off 19 deliveries before skipper Shanaka smashed 21 off 16 deliveries. Both these knocks essentially killed the defence for Pakistan and then it was just a formality.
In end, the Lankan Lions proved too loud for Pakistan before the two teams finally meet in the all-important final on Sunday. Hopefully, the match isn't one-sided like today's affair and the fans get treated to yet another thriller.
With the win, SL also matched India for the most number of wins in Asia Cup - 39.
Sri Lanka Playing XI
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka
Pakistan Playing XI
Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Hasan Ali
