Pakistan ‘A’ qualified for the final of ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 as they registered a comfortable win over Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the first Semi-Final encounter worked off today (21st July) at P. Sara Oval Grounds, Colombo.
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Haris opted to bat first after winning the toss but seamers Lahiru Samarakoon and Chamika Karunaratne managed to remove the opening pair for 61 runs.
Pakistan No. 3 batter Omair Yousuf revived their innings, stitching together crucial partnerships worth 61 & 48 with Tayyab Tahir and Haris for the 3rd and 5th wickets respectively setting the tone for a big total.
Yousuf top scored for Pakistan with a score of 88 while skipper Haris contributed with 52 runs as the visitors posted a commanding total – 322 on the board in the allotted 50 overs. Sri Lankan seamers Karunaratne, Samarakoon and Pramod Madushan picked up 2 wickets each.
In reply, Sri Lanka got off to a terrible start losing three top-order wickets for just 33 runs inside the first 8 overs. However, the opening batter Avishka Fernando and Sahan Arachchige rebuilt the innings, putting on a 128-run stand for the 4th wicket.
Fernando missed out on a well-deserved century as he was stumped by the bowling off chinaman bowler Sufiyan Muqeem for 97 runs. Arachchige and skipper Dunith Wellalage kept Sri Lanka in the run-chase with another crucial half-century stand for the 6th wicket but after the dismissal of Wellalage, the hosts lost their way to be restricted to 262.
Arachchige who showed a valiant fighting effort with the bat also missed out his century by just 3 runs as he was bowled by Mubasir Khan after a well-compiled knock of 97 runs.
Sri Lanka witnessed a major batting collapse as they lost their last 5 wickets for just 25 runs. Arshad Iqbal was the chief destroyer with the ball for Pakistan as he claimed 5 wickets for 37 runs.
Brief Scores
Pakistan ‘A’ – 322 (50) Omair Yousuf 88, Mohammd Haris 52, Mubasir Khan 42, Tayyab Tahir 26, Mohammad Wasim 24, Saim Ayub 22, Lahiru Samarakoon 2/42, Chamika Karunaratne 2/55, Pramod Madushan 2/56
Sri Lanka ‘A’ – 262 (45.4) Avishka Fernando 97, Sahan Arachchige 97, Arshad Iqbal 5/37, Sufiyan Muqeem 2/44, Mubasir Khan 2/45
Result – Pakistan ‘A’ won by 60 runs
 at P. Sara Oval Grounds, Colombo. ){kind=link}