Pakistan Shaheens defeated Sri Lanka A by five runs in the second semi-final at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha on Friday to book a place in the 2025 Rising Stars Asia Cup final.
The green jerseys restricted Sri Lanka to 148/9 after posting 153/9 on the scoreboard, winning the game by a narrow margin of five runs.
They will play Bangladesh A, who have already qualified for the final, at the same venue on Sunday.
Set to chase 154, Sri Lanka A could muster 148/9 in their 20 overs despite Milan Rathnayake’s valiant batting at the back.
Sri Lanka A got off to a flying start as they amassed 29 runs in the first two overs, courtesy Lasith Croospulle’s impressive cameo of 27 runs from just seven deliveries, comprising three sixes and two fours.
Shahid Aziz gave the Shaheens the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing the right-handed opener in the second over.
His opening partner Vishen Halambage then recorded one-sided partnerships with Nishan Madushka (six) and Nuwanidu Fernando (five) until he finally fell victim to Sufiyan Muqeem in the eighth over.
Halambage scored 29 off 27 deliveries with the help of three sixes and two fours.
His dismissal sparked a collapse which saw Sri Lanka lose four wickets in quick succession and consequently slip to 99/8 in 13.2 overs.
Rathnayake then took charge of Sri Lanka A’s chase and kept them in the hunt with an anchor knock, which culminated in the final over when eight runs were needed off four deliveries.
The left-hander remained the top scorer for Sri Lanka A with 40 off 32 deliveries, with five fours and a six.
For Shaheens, Sufiyan Muqeem and Saad Masood took three wickets each, while Ahmed Daniyal, Shahid Aziz and Ubaid Shah got one each.
Batting first, the Shaheens amassed 153/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
The Green Shirts got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Mohammad Naeem and in-form Maaz Sadaqat put together an impressive 30-run stand.
Traveen Mathew broke the opening partnership in the fourth over by dismissing Naeem, who made 16 off 15 deliveries, with three fours.
Sadaqat followed suit in the next over, falling victim to Milan Rathnayake after scoring 23 off 11 deliveries, which consisted of two sixes and as many fours.
His dismissal sparked a collapse which saw Pakistan lose three more wickets at an alarming rate to slump to 62/5 in 7.3 overs.
After the slump, Saad Masood and Ghori started the recovery and took the Shaheens total past the 100-run mark, putting on a 47-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Sri Lanka A captain, Dunith Wellalage, broke the anchor partnership in the 16th over by dismissing Masood, who scored a careful 22 off 25 deliveries.
The Shaheens then suffered another setback in their mission when Pramod Madushan sent back Shahid Aziz (seven) in the 18th over, reducing the total to 127/7.
Ahmed Daniyal then gave the Shaheens’ total a boost with an impressive 22 runs from just eight deliveries, containing three sixes before he too fell prey to Madushan.
Meanwhile, Ghori remained unbeaten and bounced back from the opening score for Pakistan Shaheens with a 36-ball 39, comprising two fours and a six.
Madushan led the Sri Lanka A bowling with fours, followed by Mathew with three, while Rathnayake and Wellalage chipped in with a scalp.
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