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Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has taken his team through to the Asia Cup 2022 final but he wasn’t a happy man considering how the match against Sri Lanka went on Friday. Babar even fumed at the umpire after a DRS review was taken without him giving the nod.
The Pakistan vs Sri Lanka clash was deemed as a dress-rehearsal for both teams who will be facing each other again in the final of the tournament on Sunday. Batting first, Pakistan put a lowly total of 121 runs on the board as Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Pramod Madushan emerged as the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing the target, the Lankans did have an early trouble as Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Dhananjaya de Silva departed for 0, 0, and 5 runs respectively. However, Pathum Nissanka slammed an unbeaten 55, coupled with important cameos from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dasun Shanaka to win the match.
As the game continued to slip away from Pakistan’s grip, Babar was understandably displeased.
His frustration peaked in the 16th over when the umpire signalled the third umpire for a DRS despite the Pakistan skipper not making the request.
It was Pakistan wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan who made a strong appeal for caught-behind on the bowling of Hasan Ali. The umpire said not-out. Despite not signalling for DRS, Babar was furious to see the umpire going upstairs. He even went up to the umpire and told him, “Main Kaptaan hun (I am the captain).”
Pakistan ended up losing the review as there was no contact between the bat and the ball. In the end, Sri Lanka won the match by 5 wickets. The Men in Green would be hoping for their fortunes to turn as the two teams square-off once again in the title-decider of the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday.
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