Asia Cup qualification scenarios for Pakistan and Sri Lanka
Will the Green Shirts make it to Asia Cup 2023 final? Or will the Sri Lankans rise to the top, becoming the second finalists after India? In this article, we will try to find out who will become the second finalist after India.
Read: Asia Cup 2023 Points Table
India completely defeated Pakistan after the rainy sky delayed play for a whole day. The unplayable pace trio from Pakistan couldn’t do a thing. Only Naseem Shah looked convincing. But even he got injured along with Haris Rauf. Pakistan management has called them back home to preserve their strength for the World Cup in India.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka won their match against Bangladesh but defeated India last night after an exciting match in Colombo.
Read: ICC World Cup Schedule 2023 PDF Download |Men’s one Day World Cup
The situation for Bangladesh is over. They are out of the Asia Cup. India has won all their matches and has qualified for the final. So, who will get the final spot?
Pakistan is lower on the points table because of their lower NRR against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is comfortable with their position on the table. They will both play a must-win match on 14 September 2023 to decide the other finalist.
So what are the scenarios?
They will qualify for the final if Pakistan wins the match against Sri Lanka. And we will have a third Pakistan vs India match on 17 September 2023. But if they lose, they will say goodbye to their Asia Cup 2023 campaign.
Sri Lanka has to win this game as well. But if the rain interrupts the play and the match is cancelled, it is over for Pakistan.
Sri Lanka is higher on the points table. This means that even if both teams get one point, Sri Lanka will have a higher NRR, qualifying them for the finale.
So it depends on the weather as well.
Weather report
According to the weather reports, there is an 86% chance of rain on 14 September. This is bad news for the Green Shirts. They have to win this game to qualify for the finals.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be sitting in their dugout, chilling. They are very comfortable with the rain washing out the day and helping them qualify for the final.
Match prediction
So who will win this match?
The record from the past 5 matches indicates that Pakistan has been a dominant ODI side. It is surprising that the last time both teams played an ODI match was in 2019. They used to play a lot.
So it all comes down to how the players can manipulate the pitch conditions and their form. Sri Lankan spinners know what’s Premadasa’s mood. We already say their spinners share 10 wickets against India.
On the other hand, Pakistan has lost two prime strike bowlers. They will be coming in with Zaman Khan and Dhani. Their spinners are not performing. The only good thing was Shadab’s 4-wicket haul. All the burden is on Shaheen.
If Sri Lankan spinners control Babar and Imam’s onslaught, the game is in their favour.
So who will win? The way Babar has been struggling against spin and how Pakistan has to send off their prime fast bowlers, things are not good for them. It is Sri Lanka’s win on Thursday.
