Asia Cup 2025: Pathum Nissanka fifty helps Sri Lanka ward off Hong Kong threat with a 4-wicket win

Pathum Nissanka made a marvellously paced fifty but Sri Lanka still made heavy weather of a chase before recording a fourwicket victory over impressive Hong Kong in a Group B match of the Asia Cup here on MondayThe knock of Nissanka 68 off 44 balls was all about timely acceleration and he shared a 57run alliance with Kusal Perera 20 for the third wicket as Lanka moved closer to a Super 4 berthOn a rather sluggish pitch Sri Lanka started the chase of 150 with caution before stepping on the gas after the 10over mark to end up with 153 for six in 185 oversAfter losing Kusal Mendis and Kamil Mishara for 65 in the first 10 overs Sri Lanka found the mojo through Nissanka who was dropped twice in this innings while on 40 and 60 by butterfingered Hong Kong fieldersHe was in no mood to check the teeth of a gifted horse making runs more with calculation than raw powerNissanka placed his big hits more to the square leg region where the boundary was relatively short exemplified by a swept six off medium pacer Aizaz KhanFrom 65 in 10 overs Sri Lanka added 42 runs in the next three overs as Nissanka and Perera got a move onBut Hong Kong dented Sri Lankas march with the quick wickets of Nissanka Perera Kamindu Mendis and skipper Charith Asalanka in the space of eight runs to reduce them from 119 for two to 127 for sixHowever Sri Lanka managed to eke out the remaining 23 runs to keep their Super 4 race alive in the continental showpiece as Wanindu Hasaranga made an unbeaten 9ball 20Earlier seasoned Nizakat Khan made a solid fifty and Anshuman Rath supported him with a sensible knock as Hong Kong scored a competitive 149 for fourAfter being put in to bat the standout feature of Hong Kongs innings was a 61run partnership between Rath 48 46 balls and Nizakat 52 not out 38 balls for the third wicketThe pair never really got bogged down by the experienced Lankan bowlers playing some welltimed shots around the parkRath preferred to play on either side of the square and his inside out cover drive off spinner Asalanka was a treatAt the other end Nizakat who became only the second Hong Kong batter to score a fifty in the T20 version of the Asia Cup preferred the V in front of the wicket as he collected a couple of fours and a six off legspinner Hasaranga over longonThe powerful righthander also had the assistance of fortune as he was dropped by a diving stumper Kusal Mendis off pacer Thilan Thushara in the second ball of the 17th over while on 33In the fifth ball of the same over the short third man fielder snapped a fine catch but Thushara had overstepped this time to save the Hong Kong batterHowever Rath soon gave a simple catch to Kamindu at the deep off pacer Dushmantha Chameera 229But despite the relatively dull finish they had Hong Kong dashed off the block making 38 runs in the first four overs courtesy some lusty hitting by Zeeshan Ali 23 17bBut Chameera had him caught behind by Kusal Mendis to stem the run flow and Hasaranga soon inflicted another bruise on the greenhorns dismissing Babar HayatBrief Scores Hong Kong 1494 Nizakat Khan 52 not out Anshuman Rath 48 Dushmantha Chameera 229 Dasun Shanaka 15 lost to Sri Lanka 1536 in 185 overs Pathum Nissanka 68 Wanindu Hasaranga 20 not out Yasim Murtaza 237 Ehsan Khan 125 by four wicketsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever