In an exciting and nail-biting second semi-final of the Rising Stars Asia Cup, Pakistan Shaheens defeated Sri Lanka A by 5 runs to secure a place in the final.
The match, held at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha, Qatar, saw Sri Lanka struggle to chase Pakistan Shaheens’ total of 153, finishing at 148 for 9 wickets.
Despite openers Lasith Crossfley scoring 27 and Vishan Halam Bhage contributing 29, the middle order failed to withstand the disciplined Pakistani bowling attack. Lower middle-order batter Milan Rathnayake offered a strong resistance, scoring 40 runs off 32 balls, but could not lead his team to victory.
Pakistani spinners Sufiyan Muqeem and Saad Masood troubled the Lankan batsmen with precise bowling, claiming 3 wickets each, while Ubaid Shah, Ahmad Daniyal, and Shahid Aziz took one wicket each.
Earlier, Pakistan Shaheens batted first, posting 153 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ghazi Ghouri played a brilliant unbeaten innings of 39 runs off 36 balls.
Maaz Sadaqat scored 23, while Saad Masood and Ahmad Daniyal contributed 22 runs each. Mohammad Naeem made 16, Shahid Aziz and Mohammad Faiq scored 7 runs each, and Yasir Khan along with captain Irfan Khan Niazi scored 6 runs each before being dismissed.
For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madhushan took 4 wickets for 29 runs, and Travin Matthew claimed 3 wickets.
In the first semi-final, Bangladesh defeated India in a thrilling contest that went down to a super over to qualify for the final.
The Rising Stars Asia Cup final between Pakistan Shaheens and Bangladesh is scheduled to be played on 23rd November in Doha.
