Mishara’s powered 76 and Chameera’s brilliance leads Sri Lanka to the tri – nation finals.
Sri Lanka 184 for 5 (Mishara 76, Mendis, 40, Abrar 2-28) beat Pakistan 178 for 7 (Salman 63, Usman 33, Chameera 4-20, Malinga 2-54) by six runs
Dushmantha Chameera held his nerve in a clutch final over to ensure Sri Lanka did not throw away a win they had spent the rest of the evening working for. He conceded three runs in the final over, building on a magnificent opening spell to deny Pakistan victory by six runs in a 184-run chase.
The stakes were higher for Sri Lanka than they were for Pakistan, with a victory required for a place in the final, or it would be Zimbabwe playing that game on Saturday. And Sri Lanka played with a hunger they have rediscovered since they finally won a game on Pakistan soil on Tuesday. Kusal Mendis and Kamil Mishara‘s 36-ball 66-run stand got them off to a flier, with Mishara ending up with 76 off 48 balls, and cameos lower down the order got them to 184.
Right from the outset, Chameera hampered Pakistan with three top-order wickets in his first two overs. The chase looked as good as dead after the loss of the first four, with 43 runs on the board, but captain Salman Ali Agha‘s unbeaten half-century kept Pakistan fighting on until the bitter end.
A 56-run stand between Salman and Usman Khan brought Pakistan back into contention, and Mohammad Nawaz brought Pakistan right to the brink. The hosts were favourites when a six over cover reduced the equation to 10 in the final over, but Chameera got a wicket, nailed his Yorkers and squeezed Pakistan out.
