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R Premadasa Stadium will host the all-important Pakistan versus Sri Lanka match (X.com)
At the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday, September 14, Sri Lanka will play Pakistan in what will essentially be the semi-final of the Asia Cup 2023. This crucial contest, set to get underway at 3:00 PM IST, will determine who advance to the final to face Rohit Sharma's Team India.
Prior to their 41-run loss to India less than 24 hours ago, Sri Lanka had a 13-match winning streak in ODIs. Nevertheless, Dunith Wellalage emerged as the game's hero after becoming the first player to ever win Player of the Match in a losing effort.
On the other hand, Pakistan were thrashed by India before coming to this fixture at the same venue. The Men in Green had been playing beautifully up until the humiliating loss against India, and Babar Azam and his boys will try to get back to their top form in this match in order to play the grand finale against the arch-rivals. At the same time, it will give them a chance to exact revenge.
R Premadasa Stadium Colombo Pitch Report
Yesterday's match between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo saw the spinners pick up as many as 16 out of the 20 wickets. The prolonged rain in Colombo over the past few days created this perfect scenario for the spinners.
Nevertheless, despite the moisture, the Colombo pitch traditionally favors spinners over fast bowlers. Thus, expect the likes of Maheesh Theekshana, Wellalage, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Shadab Khan to be more effective than most of the star pacers. Even Charith Asalanka, the off-spinner, bowled nine overs against India and claimed four wickets.
Given the circumstances, Pakistan might also call up Mohammad Nawaz for this match.
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