Sri Lanka narrowly escaped with a four-wicket win over Hong Kong in their Asia Cup 2025 Group B clash at the Dubai International Stadium, a match that highlighted several areas needing improvement.
Chasing a modest target of 150, Sri Lanka's innings was far from comfortable, with serious hiccups throughout the chase. Opener Pathum Nissanka was the standout performer, scoring a well-paced 68 off 44 balls, anchoring the innings and seemingly steering the team to safety before a collapse threatened their chances.
Sri Lanka lost key wickets in quick succession in the 16th over, including Nissanka's run-out, which swung momentum toward Hong Kong. The visitors fought hard, posting a competitive total of 149/4, thanks largely to Nizakat Khan's unbeaten
52 and Anshuman Rath's 48. Despite fielding struggles marked by multiple dropped catches and a few poor bowling overs, Sri Lanka managed to hold their nerve, with Wanindu Hasaranga's unbeaten 20 off nine balls sealing the win with seven balls to spare.
After the match, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka admitted his side must improve.
"In that moment, I think our heart was in our mouths. Few areas I am really disappointed about - the first three overs when we were bowling and then the 16th over when we lost a couple of wickets including mine. In the shorter format these things can happen, but it cannot keep happening consistently. We have to analyse it and improve. This is not the way we wanted to play. When we are playing these sides there is always pressure, but as professionals we have to do much better," Asalanka said after the match.
On the pitch and the chase, he added: "Felt confident because the pitch was looking good. Credit goes to them, they batted really well and we bowled badly in the first three overs. "
The Hong Kong captain, Yasim Murtaza, praised his team's resilience but lamented missed fielding chances and costly dropped catches that ultimately cost them the game. They are eliminated of the Asia Cup 2025 with three defeats, but would be proud of their performance against the big guns.
