Initially considered as one of the strong favorites for the Asia Cup 2023, Babar Azam’s Pakistan team failed to reach the final of the continental tournament after Sri Lanka knocked them out in what was a virtual semi-final in Colombo.
Pakistan had started the Super 4 round with a comfortable win over Bangladesh in Lahore. But the past week has been utterly horrific for them.
They lost to India by a massive margin of 228 runs, and in the game which also saw their two star fast bowlers – Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah – picking up injuries and being ruled out for the rest of the tournament. The backups to those two pacers were nowhere near their class and ability and they then lost to Sri Lanka on Thursday in a last-ball thriller.
Sri Lanka sealed their place in the Asia Cup 2023 final against India. The final will be played on Sunday in Colombo.
IND vs SL Final won’t be a one sided affair: Irfan Pathan
As he’s been doing it for a while on Twitter, the former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan took another dig at the Pakistan cricket team. India had recorded a thumping 228-run victory over Pakistan, while against Sri Lanka, India won by only 41 runs in Colombo.
With Sri Lanka entering the final, Irfan Pathan brutally trolled the Pakistan cricket team saying that India vs Sri Lanka won’t be a one-sided contest.
“Playing finals against Sri Lanka will be better for team India as it won’t be a one sided affair,” Irfan Pathan tweeted.
Meanwhile, India take on Bangladesh on Friday in Colombo. With the place in the final sealed, India have made five changes, giving opportunty to the players on the bench. Tilak Varma makes his ODI debut today vs Bangladesh while Kohli, Bumrah, Siraj, Kuldeep and Hardik Pandya are rested.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna
