Asia Cup 2022: SL vs PAK: Pakistan Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka (Predicted), Super Four, Match 6 (B1 vs A2)

Asia Cup 2022: SL vs PAK: Pakistan Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka (Predicted), Super Four, Match 6 (B1 vs A2). Asia Cup has lived up to its expectations with close encounters and thrilling finishes so far. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have bettered India and Afghanistan in the Super 4 stages to qualify for the finals.

This Asia Cup 2022 tournament has been a big audition for the 2022 T20I World Cup later this year. Both teams will look to win this inconsequential last Super 4 match and go into the finals with confidence and momentum on their side. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will meet each other on 9th September 2022 in Dubai before meeting again on Sunday, 11th September at the same venue.

Pakistan did what they are best at with their unpredictability and won their last 2 thrillers against India (5 wickets) and Afghanistan (1 wicket) in the last over. Against Afghanistan, Iftikhar Ahmed (30 runs) and Shadab Khan (36 runs) shared a vital partnership in the middle after Mohammad Rizwan’s 26-ball 20-run stay early in the match. Asif Ali (14 runs) and Naseem Shah (12 runs) scored crucial 26 runs in their final moments to cross the line with one wicket remaining.

Their bowlers put on a combined show to restrict the opposition to 129/6 in the last game. Haris Rauf was the chief wicket taker with 4-0-26-2 in the match. Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz picked up a wicket each and gave runs at less than 6 RPO in the last Asia Cup 2022 game.

Four late wickets gave Afghanistan a chance, before Fazalhaq Farooqi’s full tosses went for sixes, and eliminated both Afghanistan and India. Pakistan won a seesawing, low-scoring thriller to beat Afghanistan by one wicket, thus booking their date with Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2022.

The result not only brought down the curtain on Afghanistan’s campaign but also on defending champions India. Having restricted Afghanistan to 129 for 6 after winning the toss, Pakistan would have expected smooth sailing but Afghanistan’s bowlers kept a lid on the scoring rate.

Pakistan 131 for 9 (Shadab 36, Fareed 3-31, Farooqi 3-31) beat Afghanistan 129 for 6 (Ibrahim 35, Rauf 2-26, Naseem 1-19) by one wicket

Mohammad Nawaz stunned India with the bat after helping restrict them with the ball after a rampant start to give Pakistan a thrilling win in their Super 4 Asia Cup 2022 match against India. A week after India chased successfully in a thrilling group-stage finish, Pakistan returned the favour, asking India to bat and getting home with just one ball to spare.

Mohammad Rizwan anchored the chase with 71 off 51, but it was Mohammad Nawaz who provided the desperately needed impetus. Promoted to No. 4, he smashed 42 off 20 balls to put Pakistan back on track as India’s Virat Kohli’s 44 balls 60 went in vain.

Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan 182 for 5 (Rizwan 71, Nawaz 42) beat India 181 for 7 (Kohli 60, Rahul 28, Rohit 28, Shadab 2-31) by five wickets

Pakistan is on a roll in this Asia Cup 2022. After a close defeat to India in their first game of Asia Cup 2022, they absolutely destroyed India in the Super 4 stage and Hong Kong in the group stage and won a close contest against Afghanistan to book a spot in the Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka. Babar Azam hasn’t been in great form but they won’t be too worried about it as it is just a matter of time before the talented batsman is once again amongst the runs.

Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan Predicted Playing 11: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah

Asia Cup 2022: SL vs PAK: Pakistan Playing 11 (Predicted) vs Sri Lanka, Super Four, Match 6 (B1 vs A2)

Babar Azam

Babar Azam is the skipper of Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022. He should be the opener for the team during the tournament. The right-handed batsman is one of the top-ranked batsmen in T20Is (ICC ranking) but is yet to fire in Asia Cup 2022.

He scored only 10 off 9 balls against India in Asia Cup 2022. He failed yet again against easier opponents in Hong Kong (9 off 8) when the other Pakistan batters were making merry. He failed to score much again in the Super 4 match against India scoring only 14 off 10.

He was dismissed without scoring again against Afghanistan as he was dismissed leg before wicket off Fazalhaq Farooqi in the 2nd ball of Pakistan’s innings. He has scored only 33 runs in 4 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 at a pathetic average of only 8.25.

Mohammad Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan should be the wicketkeeper and the other opener for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022.

He top-scored with 43 off 42 balls in the defeat against India in Asia Cup 2022. He again top-scored with an unbeaten 78 off 57 balls against Hong Kong and was named MOM. He top-scored again against India in a Super 4 match scoring 71 off 51 balls. He scored 20 off 26 balls against Afghanistan in the next super-4 match. He is the leading run-getter in Asia Cup 2022 with 212 runs averaging 70.67.

Fakhar Zaman

Fakhar Zaman should be the one-down batsman for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022. He scored his 8th fifty against Hong Kong.

Fakhar Zaman is an experienced batsman for Pakistan and will be a good choice at the no.3 batting spot. He scored 53 off 41 balls against Hong Kong before being dismissed by Ehsan Khan. He scored only 15 off 18 balls in the Super 4 match against India and 5 off 9 balls against Afghanistan.

Iftikhar Ahmed

Iftikhar Ahmed should be another middle-order batsman for Pakistan in the playing XI.  In Asia Cup 2022, he scored 28 off 22 balls before edging one to keeper Dinesh Karthik off Hardik Pandya against India in the opener. He didn’t bat against Hong Kong and hit the winning runs against India in the Super 4 match. He scored 30 off 33 balls against Afghanistan in the next Super 4 match.

Asif Ali

Asif Ali scored 9 off 7 balls against India in the Asia Cup 2022 opener. He didn’t bat against Hong Kong. In the Super 4 match against India, he scored a quick 16 off 8 balls before being lbw-ed by Arshdeep Singh in the last over.

The pace bowler had earlier dropped a regulation catch in the 18th over. But his missed catch cost India the Super 4 match. He scored 16 off 8 balls in the next match against Afghanistan.

Asif Ali smashed an unbeaten 27 off 12 balls against New Zealand and followed it up with 25* off 7 against Afghanistan in the 2021 T20I World Cup in the same country-UAE, which included four sixes in an over. In both matches, the 30-year-old lifted Pakistan to victory in tense circumstances.

Khushdil Shah

Khusdil Shah will be a member of the Pakistan side in the Asia Cup 2022. He played against India in the Asia Cup 2022 opener but could manage only 2 off 7 balls before being Hardik Pandya’s victim.

He scored an unbeaten cameo – 35 runs off 15 balls including 5 sixes against Hong Kong. The last over bowled by Aizaz Khan saw him hit 4 sixes. He scored an unbeaten 14 off 11 against India in the Super 4 Asia Cup 2022 match but managed only 1 off 3 balls batting lower down the order.

Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan should be an all-rounder for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022. He scored 10 runs and conceded 19 runs in 4 overs against India in the Asia Cup 2022 group fixture. Against Hong Kong, he was the pick of the bowlers picking 4/8 in 2.4 overs which saw Hong Kong bundled out for 38.

He was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers against India in super 4 too, picking 2/31 in 4 overs which included scalps of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. He picked 1/27 against Afghanistan in Super 4 besides scoring vital 36 runs in 26 balls which saw him bag the MOM award.

Mohammad Nawaz

Mohammad Nawaz was the top wicket-taker in the Asia Cup 2022 match against India by picking 3/33 in 3.4 overs but couldn’t defend 6 runs in the last over.  He picked Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja’s scalps. In 2 overs, he picked 3 scalps conceding 5 runs against Hong Kong.

He was MOM against India in Super 4 again, picking Suryakumar Yadav’s scalp and conceding only 25 runs in 4 overs. But it was his career-best 42 off 20 balls being promoted higher up the order that resulted in Pakistan’s win. He picked 1/23 against Afghanistan in Super 4 and scored only 4 runs. He is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 for picking 8 scalps in 4 T20Is averaging 10.75.

Naseem Shah

For Pakistan, teenage pace sensation Naseem Shah made his T20I debut and impressed everyone with his speed and control. He finished with figures of 4-0-27-2 and accounted for the wickets of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav.

However, towards the end of the innings, Naseem Shah looked like suffering from cramps. Despite that, he was brave enough to continue and left the field after the 18th over against India.

He played against Hong Kong and bowled 2 overs picking 2/7. He returned with figures of 1/45 in the Super 4 match against India. Against Afghanistan, he was economical returning with figures of 1/19 in 4 overs besides hitting 2 sixes and scoring 14 off 4 balls which saw Pakistan win in a tense last over.

Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf should be one of the pacers for Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022. In the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf will be the most crucial pacer for Pakistan.  He was wicketless against India in Asia Cup 2022, returning with figures of 0/35 in 4 overs. His economy of 8.52 is on the higher side. He conceded 6 runs in a solitary wicketless over bowled against Hong Kong.

He returned with figures of 1/38 in 4 overs in a super 4 match against India. He was the pick of the bowlers against Afghanistan picking 2/26.  Hasan Ali, who has taken 60 scalps in 49 T20Is averaging 23.15, may get a chance against Sri Lanka if Haris Rauf is rested. Hasan Ali was a late entrant to the side in Asia Cup 2022 Pakistan squad where he replaced an injured Mohammad Wasim.

Mohammad Hasnain

Mohammad Hasnain picked the vital scalp of Hardik Pandya in the Super 4 match against India and conceded 38 runs in 4 overs. He also picked 1/34 against Afghanistan in the next Super 4 game. The 22-year-old right-arm pacer Mohammad Hasnain was named as the replacement for the injured premier Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the Asia Cup 2022.

Mohammad Hasnain, who was recently banned for his illegal bowling action replaced Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani who was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 Super-4 game against arch-rivals India with a suspected side strain, which he picked during his side’s 155-run win over Hong Kong.

Shahnawaz Dahani has played only 4 T20Is and has picked 3 scalps averaging 27.67. He returned with figures of 0/29 in 4 overs in the Asia Cup 2022 match against India. He also scored 16 off 6 which included 2 sixes batting at No. 11 before being bowled by pacer Arshdeep Singh. Shanawaz Dahani also picked a wicket bowling 2 overs and conceded 7 runs against Hong Kong.