Sri Lanka inched one step closer to a spot in the Super Fours in the Asia Cup after beating Hong Kong on Monday, albeit not without a scare when they lost four wickets in a span of 13 deliveries. Opener Pathum Nissanka continued his good form with his second consecutive fifty of the tournament.
Hong Kong were onto something before Sri Lanka kept their calm and got over the line with the all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga finishing things off as the defending Men’s T20 Asia Cup champions inched a step closer to a spot in Super Fours in the ongoing edition. Losing four wickets for 13 runs wasn’t what the doctor ordered for Sri Lanka, as they panicked a bit despite being in a comfortable position to chase down the target of 150 after Pathum Nissanka’s second consecutive fifty, but Hasaranga, with an unbeaten 20 off just nine deliveries, took his side over the line.
Nissanka continued his superb form in the shortest international format, smashing his third fifty in the last five games and the second in the ongoing Asia Cup. The 27-year-old, in a very short career of just over four years now, already has the most fifty-plus scores for Sri Lanka in T20Is, following a superb 68 against Hong Kong on Monday evening in Dubai.
Nissanka, who is yet to score a T20I century, has 17 fifty-plus scores for Sri Lanka in T20Is, one more than both Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera, the T20I veterans for the islanders in the format.ย
Most fifty-plus scores for Sri Lanka in T20Is
Pathum Nissankaย – 17
Kusal Mendis – 16
Kusal Perera – 16 (15 fifties, 1 century)
TM Dilshan – 14 (13 fifties, 1 century)
Mahela Jayawardene – 10 (9 fifties, 1 century)
Overall, Babar Azam and Virat Kohli have the most fifty-plus scores in T20Is (39). Nissanka equalled the likes of Dawid Malana, Quinton de Kock and Glenn Maxwell while leapfrogging Chris Gayle and Sikandar Raza among others.
Nissanka is one of just six batters to aggregate 1000-plus runs in international cricket across formats and surpassed Harry Brook on the list on Monday and finds himself behind the likes of Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Shubman Gill. The right-hander’s stability has enabled Sri Lanka to play dashers like Kamil Mishara, Perera, and Dasun Shanaka through the order, which gives the T20 setup an edge.
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in their opening game of the season and have already gotten a taste of both the venues, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, before playing the tougher opponents in Afghanistan and potentially India in the Super Fours.
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