Charith Asalanka with ice in his veins sealed Sri Lanka's date with India in the Asia Cup 2023 final after clinching a two-wicket victory in a nerve-cracking chase against Pakistan on Thursday at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Pakistan batters Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan registered their names in the Asia Cup's history book as their 108-run partnership broke records to take the 'Men in Green' to a competitive score in their must-win clash against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
The Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka will start from August 30 with the match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on September 2 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy set to serve as the Men in Blue's campaign opener.
A 3-0 series sweep over Afghanistan helped Pakistan to the pole position in Men’s ODI Team Rankings. They are now marginally ahead of Australia, with 2725 points and 118 rating points.
Pakistan's middle order has consistently failed to build on the foundation laid down by the top order. The batters between Nos. 4 and No. 7 have averaged 26.9, which is slightly lower than the West Indies, whose middle-order batters average 26.2.
Rizwan had extremely meagre returns batting at No.5, scoring just 106 runs in 6 games at an average of 17.66. However, the 30-year-old seems to have gotten a grip on his new role with match-winning contributions in both games against New Zealand.
Suryakumar is leading the table with 906 rating points, he is around 100 points ahead of Pakistan wicketkeeping batter Mohammed Rizwan (811 points) followed by skipper Babar Azam (755), South Africa's Aiden Markram (748) and Devon Conway of New Zealand (745).
While Suryakumar currently holds a commanding lead at the top of the T20I rankings for batters with 906 rating points, second-placed Rizwan (811) and third-placed Babar (755) could make gains while the India star is playing IPL
Pakistan has rested key players and named a new-look side filled with fresh talent, with the onus on managing the workloads as well preparation for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.
The veteran pacer achieved this record during New Zealand's third ODI against Pakistan in Karachi. Southee has surpassed Vettori's total of 696 international scalps