Sri Lankan cricket team in Asia Cup (Source: AFP)
The Sri Lankan captain, Charith Asalanka has won the toss in their second match of Asia Cup 2025 and have decided to field first. They have made one big change with Matheesha Pathirana getting replaced by Maheesh Theekshana. The six-time Asia Cup champions won their last game against Bangladesh comfortably while Hong Kong have lost both their matches.
Thus, the men in Red have made one change with Kalhan Marc getting a game in place of Shahid Wasif.
SL vs Hong Kong: Playing XIs
Hong Kong Playing XI: Zeeshan Ali (wk), Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Yasim Murtaza (c), Aizaz Khan, Kinchit Shah, Shahid Wasif, Ehsan Khan, Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Charith Asalanka (c), Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Maheesh Theekshana
SL vs Hong Kong: Captain's Thoughts
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka captain): "Looks like a decent pitch. We would like to chase. Maheesh Theekshana comes in for Matheesha Pathirana.(On the last game) Very happy with the performance. It was a near perfect game for us. We can't take any team lightly in this format. We need to do the basics right."
Yasim Murtaza (Hong Kong Captain): "To be honest, we did really well last game. We want to do the same thing tonight as well. We have made 1 change. Kalhan (Kalhan Marc Challu) makes way for Shahid (Shahid Wasif). Of course, we talk about winning games as well but work ethics is also very important for us. We don't have any chance to qualify for the next round. We are quite satisfied with our performances in the last two games. We want to end the tournament on a high."
A win for this match would put Sri Lanka on the brink of qualification for Super Four and Charith Asalanka and his boys would be hoping to dominate against Hong Kong. They would be bowling first and it will be interesting to see how boys from Hong Kong tackle the Lankan pacer and spinners.
