Pakistan Shaheens defeated Sri Lanka A by five runs in the second semi-final at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha on Friday to book a place in the final of the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025.
The Green Shirts restricted Sri Lanka to 148/9 after posting 153/9 on the scoreboard, winning the game by a narrow five-run margin.
They will be locking horns with Bangladesh A, who have already qualified for the ultimate game, at the same venue on Sunday.
Set to chase 154, Sri Lanka A could amass 148/9 in their 20 overs despite Milan Rathnayake’s gutsy knock at the backend.
Sri Lanka A got off to a blazing start as they amassed 29 runs inside the first two overs, courtesy of Lasith Croospulle’s blistering cameo of 27 runs from just seven deliveries, comprising three sixes and two fours.
Shahid Aziz gave the Shaheens the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing the right-handed opener in the second over.
His opening partner, Vishen Halambage, then registered one-sided partnerships with Nishan Madushka (six) and Nuwanidu Fernando (five) until eventually falling victim to Sufiyan Muqeem in the eighth over.
Halambage scored 29 off 27 deliveries with the help of three sixes and two fours.
His dismissal sparked a collapse, which saw Sri Lanka lose four wickets in quick succession and consequently slip to 99/8 in 13.2 overs.
Rathnayake then took the reins of Sri Lanka A’s pursuit and kept them in the hunt with an anchoring knock, which culminated in the final over when eight runs were required off four deliveries.
The left-handed batter remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka A with 40 off 32 deliveries, featuring five fours and a six.
For Shaheens, Sufiyan Muqeem and Saad Masood took three wickets each, while Ahmed Daniyal, Shahid Aziz and Ubaid Shah chipped in with one apiece.
Put into bat first, the Shaheens accumulated 153/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
The Green Shirts got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Mohammad Naeem and in-form Maaz Sadaqat put together a blistering 30-run stand.
Traveen Mathew broke the opening partnership in the fourth over by dismissing Naeem, who made 16 off 15 deliveries, laced with three fours.
Sadaqat followed suit in the next over, falling victim to Milan Rathnayake, after scoring 23 off 11 deliveries, comprising two sixes and as many fours.
His dismissal sparked a collapse, which saw Pakistan lose three more wickets at an alarming rate and were thus reduced to 62/5 in 7.3 overs.
Following the slump, Saad Masood and Ghori launched recovery and took the Shaheens’ total past the 100-run mark by knitting a 47-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Sri Lanka A captain, Dunith Wellalage, broke the anchoring partnership in the 16th over by dismissing Masood, who scored a cautious 22 off 25 deliveries.
Shaheens then suffered another setback to their batting expedition when Pramod Madushan sent back Shahid Aziz (seven) in the 18th over, bringing the total down to 127/7.
Ahmed Daniyal then gave a late push to the Shaheens’ total with a blistering 22-run cameo off just eight deliveries, which featured three sixes until he too fell prey to Madushan.
Meanwhile, Ghori remained unbeaten and walked back after top-scoring for Pakistan Shaheens with a 36-ball 39, comprising two fours and a six.
Madushan led Sri Lanka A’s bowling charge with a four-wicket haul, followed by Mathew with three, while Rathnayake and Wellalage chipped in with one scalp apiece.
