Twitter Reactions: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka to take back some pride

The Pakistan v Sri Lanka match was an inconsequential game as the two finalists for the Asia Cup were already determined. But, this match, the last for both the teams before they fly to India for the World T20 was a chance for them to take back some confidence and, of course, a matter of pride. It was Pakistan that put up a better show and eventually won the game by 6 wickets.

Dinesh Chandimal was leading Sri Lanka since stand-in skipper Angelo Mathews wasn’t available. Shahid Afridi won the toss and asked the opposition to bat first. Sri Lanka did well to post 150/4. Senior batsmen Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chandimla both scored fifties while the wicketkeeper batsman got out after scoring 58 off 49, Dilshan batted through the inning and remained unbeaten on 75 from 56 balls.

It looked like a tricky chase given the peculiar character of the Pakistan batting. One could see some impact of the heat they faced for losing to Bangladesh the other night and also missing out on making it to the final. Most batsmen batted with responsibility and it was once again Umar Akmal who anchored the chase. His 48 that came off 37 balls took them steps away from victory and Shoaib Malik completed the formalities.

Umar Akmal for his 48 was awarded the Man of the Match. Akmal said: “The situation we were in, credit to the management and the captain for boosting our morale ahead of the game. The rhythm our bowling has picked, and the batsmen, has a lot to do with the captain and management. Again want to thank my captain for letting me bat at No. 4”

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi in the post match presentation said: “We showed today how good we are. Just need to have a little more self-belief. Partnerships are the key, and will win us more games. Today we ensured that we didn’t lose wickets in the first six overs, no matter how many runs are scored. Our plans were to not tinker with the squad ahead of the World T20, but some of the performances forced our hand. Want to thank the selection committee for getting together a good squad. Like we spoke early that we need to change our fortunes ourselves with hard work. I don’t crumble so early. Have a lot of confidence in myself. Special thanks to the Bangladeshi crowd for their support in each and every game.”

Afridi’s Sri Lankan counterpart Chandimal said: “Overall we played some really good cricket. We were short by around 15 runs with the bat. It’s difficult to grip the ball but bowlers did well but as I said we were 10-15 runs short. Injuries is the prime concern going into the World T20. Hopefully all players can recover soon.”

Here is how Twitter reacted to Pakistan’s 6-wicket victory:

https://twitter.com/AltCricket/status/705049317065801733

https://twitter.com/AltCricket/status/705794938227855360

https://twitter.com/kruti101/status/705790665121259520