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- Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong Highlights, Asia Cup 2025: Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong by 4 wickets
Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong Highlights, Asia Cup 2025: Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong by 4 wickets
The defending T20 champions ticked all the boxes in their opener against Bangladesh — taking early wickets in the powerplay and sealing the game inside the first six overs with the bat, sending a warning to the tougher teams in the eight-team tournament.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, have lost both of their opening games, with their batters struggling to cope with more accomplished opponents. A significant improvement will be required if they are to make a contest out of this clash.
Sri Lanka’s pace duo, and , will fancy their chances against Hong Kong’s fragile top-order. Negotiating spinner in the middle overs will pose an even bigger challenge, as the crafty leg-spinner is known for targeting stumps and deceiving batters with his googlies. Death overs specialist , who had an off day against Bangladesh, will be eager to make amends with a barrage of yorkers.
On the batting front, Sri Lanka’s top-order of , , and can be destructive on their day. Both Nissanka and Mishara enter the game with runs already under their belt.
For Hong Kong, captain knows the improvements his batters need, but the bowlers did show progress in their last outing against Bangladesh.
“To be honest, I am happy with the batters but would have been happier if one of them got 60-70+ and got a big total. I think we know what we need to work on, hopefully we’ll do better next time,” Murtaza said after the loss.
Hong Kong openers and have underwhelmed so far, and runs in the powerplay will be crucial if their side is to mount any challenge.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana.
Hong Kong: Yasim Murtaza (c), Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali, Nizakat Khan, Nasrulla Rana, Martin Coetzee, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Challu, Ayush Shukla, Aizaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Kinchit Shah, Adil Mehmood, Haroon Arshad, Ali Hassan, Shahid Wasif, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Mohammad Waheed, Anas Khan, Ehsan Khan.
Nuwan Thushara to Anshy Rath, Short of a length and around off, Rath gets on top of the bounce and pulls it down to deep mid-wicket for a single.
Anshy Rath is struggling a bit after taking a blow on his left elbow from the throw. The physio applies the magic spray, and we are good to go again.
Nuwan Thushara to Anshy Rath, Fuller and down leg, Anshy Rath backs away and clips it with soft hands in the gap towards deep square leg. He calls for two instantly, but the fielder in the deep gets forward quickly and makes a throw towards the batting end after picking up the ball. However, as Rath was charging back to his crease, the throw hit him on his left elbow. He looks in pain, and the physio is out to have a check on him.
Nuwan Thushara to Nizakat Khan, A low full toss, around off, squeezed away to the right of deep third for a single.
Nuwan Thushara to Anshy Rath, Full and around middle, Anshy Rath comes forward and chips it back uppishly to the right of the bowler. Nuwan Thushara tries to extend his right hand and take this sharp returning catch, but fails, and the ball evades him to roll away to long off. A single taken. Call it half a chance.
- Anshy Rath 36 (33)
- Nizakat Khan 15 (12)
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Fuller and down leg, Rath strides forward and flicks it to deep mid-wicket for a single. Hong Kong, China are 84/2 after 12 overs.
Charith Asalanka to Nizakat Khan, Short and on the pads, tucked to the right of mid-wicket for a single more by Khan.
Charith Asalanka to Nizakat Khan, FOUR! MUSCLED! Flatter, full and around middle, Nizakat Khan uses his feet and whacks it straight down the ground to beat the diving long on fielder to his left for a boundary.
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Quicker but on the pads, knocked down to wide long on for one by Rath.
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, FOUR! SHOT OF THE MATCH! Slower and fuller, around middle, Anshy Rath backs away, gets underneath it and goes inside out. Lofts it over covers for a boundary. Holds the pose as well.
Charith Asalanka to Nizakat Khan, Sliding on the pads, swept away to deep backward square leg for a single.
- Nizakat Khan 9 (9)
- Anshy Rath 30 (30)
Wanindu Hasaranga to Nizakat Khan, Touch short and outside off, Khan comes forward and tickles it towards short fine for a single.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Much shorter and around off, Rath eases it down to long on for a single.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Nizakat Khan, Short and outside off, dabbed down towards point for one.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Nizakat Khan, How did that miss the stumps? Shorter and slower, turns back in, Nizakat Khan sits down on one knee and looks to slog-sweep it but gets beaten on the inside edge. The ball goes over the leg stump and rolls away towards short fine off the thighpad of the keeper.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Nizakat Khan, SIX! BREAKS THE SHACKLES! Wanindu tosses it up, full and around middle, Nizakat Khan uses his feet, gets to the pitch of the ball and tonks it over the long on fielder for a biggie. It will ease the pressure a bit.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Slower and shorter, outside off, Anshy Rath presses back and dabs it down towards cover point for one.
DRINKS! Sri Lanka are in full control of the match. Although they have taken just two wickets, they have kept Hong Kong, China under pressure with some brilliant spin bowling. Wanindu Hasaranga is bowling exceptionally well once again and has also taken a wicket. Meanwhile, the batters from Hong Kong, China are struggling to handle the spinners and appear to be crumbling under the pressure. Let's see what happens in the next phase.
- Anshy Rath 28 (28)
- Nizakat Khan 1 (5)
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Floated, full and on middle and leg, Anshy Rath works it through mid-wicket for one.
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Floated, full and on middle, Anshy Rath backs away and drives it firmly wide of sweeper covers for a brace.
Charith Asalanka to Nizakat Khan, Short again and on middle, Nizakat Khan punches it down to long on for a run.
Charith Asalanka to Nizakat Khan, Good fielding! Short again and on middle, Nizakat Khan pats it to the right of the bowler. Asalanka dives to his right, gets a hand to it and parries it to short mid-wicket.
Charith Asalanka to Nizakat Khan, Quicker, short and on off, Nizakat Khan stabs it back to the bowler.
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Fires in a low full toss, on off, Anshy Rath drills it to long off for a single.
- Nizakat Khan 0 (2)
- Anshy Rath 24 (25)
Wanindu Hasaranga to Nizakat Khan, Slows it up, full and on middle, Nizakat Khan turns it to the leg side. Just one run and a wicket from the over then.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Nizakat Khan, Another googly, full and on middle, Nizakat Khan tucks it to short mid-wicket.
Nizakat Khan walks in next to bat.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Babar Hayat, OUT! STUMPED! Wanindu Hasaranga strikes! Good reflexes behind the stumps, and Babar Hayat's short stay comes to an end now. This is a wrong'un, full and on middle, turns in and keeps low too. Hayat comes down the track to go big down the ground but fails to read the googly and gets a bottom edge onto his pads. The ball rolls and goes under the keeper's gloves to hit his pads, but Kusal Mendis is quick to gather the ball and breaks the stumps in a flash. The replay confirms that Hayat is short of his crease. Hong Kong, China are 57/2 now!
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Flighted, full and on middle, Anshy Rath looks to go for the big slog but gets an inside edge through square leg for a single.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Flatter, short and on off, Anshy Rath steers it away to backward point.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Uppish but safe! A googly, full and around off, turns away, Anshy Rath fails to read it and ends up lobbing it towards the bowler. However, luckily for him, it drops in front of Hasaranga, who dives to his right to make the stop.
- Babar Hayat 4 (9)
- Anshy Rath 23 (22)
Charith Asalanka to Babar Hayat, Gives this one some air, full and on middle, Babar Hayat blocks it down the pitch.
Charith Asalanka to Babar Hayat, Clever bowling! Charith Asalanka sees the batter advance and drags his length back, on middle and leg, Babar Hayat gets in no man's land as the ball hits his pads and goes nowhere.
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Quicker, full and on off, Anshy Rath backs away and bunts it out to long off for another run.
Charith Asalanka to Babar Hayat, Flatter, full and around off, angles away, Babar Hayat guides it off the outer half of the bat to short third for a run.
Charith Asalanka to Babar Hayat, Floated, full and on off, Babar Hayat uses his feet and lifts it, but not from the middle of the bat. It goes in the air but well wide of long off as the batters take two runs.
Charith Asalanka to Anshy Rath, Loopy low full toss, on leg, Anshy Rath drills it down to long on for a single.
- Anshy Rath 21 (20)
- Babar Hayat 1 (5)
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, A googly, full and on middle, Anshy Rath works it through mid-wicket for one.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Tossed up, full and around off, Anshy Rath reaches out a bit and lofts it nicely over covers for a brace.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Did that carry? Flighted, full and on middle, Anshy Rath uses his feet and drills it uppishly down the pitch. Hasarange gets down quickly on his follow-through to stop. Looking at his reaction, it does not look like it carried.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Babar Hayat, Fires one full, on middle, Babar Hayat works it off the inner half of the bat towards short fine.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, Floated, full and on middle, turns in, Anshy Rath clips it through mid-wicket for a single.
Wanindu Hasaranga to Anshy Rath, FOUR! Welcome to the game, Wanindu Hasaranga! He bowls a half-tracker from around the wicket, on middle. Anshy Rath rocks back quickly and pulls it away to the deep square leg fence for a boundary.
42/1? Good or just a middling score? Hong Kong, China, would be happy to avoid losing many wickets in the Powerplay, while Sri Lanka would be itching to take a few more. Also, Wanindu Hasaranga comes into the attack right after the Powerplay.
- Babar Hayat 0 (4)
- Anshy Rath 13 (15)
Maheesh Theekshana to Babar Hayat, Slows it up, full and on off, Babar Hayat taps it to short covers. Just one runs off the over. Hong Kong, China are 42/1 at the end of the Powerplay!
Maheesh Theekshana to Babar Hayat, Dragged back and around off, Babar Hayat stays back and keeps it out to the off side.
Maheesh Theekshana to Babar Hayat, A big shout for LBW, but turned down! Pushed through quicker, shortish and on off, turns in, Babar Hayat strides out to block but misses and gets hit high on the pads. Maybe a bit too high. However, the replays show that it would be three reds, but Sri Lanka didn't opt for a review. A chance is surely gone.
Maheesh Theekshana to Anshy Rath, Flighted, full and on off, Anshy Rath drills it straight to mid off and scampers across for a single. There is a bit of a fumble as well.
Maheesh Theekshana to Anshy Rath, Flatter, short and around off, Anshy Rath looks to cut but this one comes a bit quicker. He ends up bunting it out on the off side.
Maheesh Theekshana to Anshy Rath, Floated, full and on leg, Anshy Rath goes down and paddles it to shor fine.
The defending T20 champions ticked all the boxes in their opener against Bangladesh — taking early wickets in the powerplay and sealing the game inside the first six overs with the bat, sending a warning to the tougher teams in the eight-team tournament.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, have lost both of their opening games, with their batters struggling to cope with more accomplished opponents. A significant improvement will be required if they are to make a contest out of this clash.
Sri Lanka’s pace duo, and , will fancy their chances against Hong Kong’s fragile top-order. Negotiating spinner in the middle overs will pose an even bigger challenge, as the crafty leg-spinner is known for targeting stumps and deceiving batters with his googlies. Death overs specialist , who had an off day against Bangladesh, will be eager to make amends with a barrage of yorkers.
On the batting front, Sri Lanka’s top-order of , , and can be destructive on their day. Both Nissanka and Mishara enter the game with runs already under their belt.
For Hong Kong, captain knows the improvements his batters need, but the bowlers did show progress in their last outing against Bangladesh.
“To be honest, I am happy with the batters but would have been happier if one of them got 60-70+ and got a big total. I think we know what we need to work on, hopefully we’ll do better next time,” Murtaza said after the loss.
Hong Kong openers and have underwhelmed so far, and runs in the powerplay will be crucial if their side is to mount any challenge.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana.
Hong Kong: Yasim Murtaza (c), Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali, Nizakat Khan, Nasrulla Rana, Martin Coetzee, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Challu, Ayush Shukla, Aizaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Kinchit Shah, Adil Mehmood, Haroon Arshad, Ali Hassan, Shahid Wasif, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Mohammad Waheed, Anas Khan, Ehsan Khan.
Match Statistics
Venue
Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
