Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong by four wickets in match 8 of the ongoing Asia Cup
Pathum Nissanka was adjudged the Player of the Match after scoring 68
A mini collapse late in the chase had Charith Asalanka's mouth in his heart
Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong by four wickets in a tricky encounter to win back-to-back matches in the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai. Pathum Nissanka was the hero of Sri Lanka's win with a match-winning half-century. After the match, the Sri Lanka opener said he remains "happy with the way I am batting".
Nissanka helped Sri Lanka stay competitive even as his partners scored slow in the early parts of the chase. He almost sealed the deal in his team's favour with a brilliant 68 off only 44 balls. However, he got run out on the first ball of the 16th over and that triggered a mini collapse for Sri Lanka.
Wanindu Hasaranga hit a six and a couple of fours to close out the match with a ball left in the penultimate over. Nissanka was adjudged the Player of the Match.
With his 17th half-century in T20Is, he surpassed Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera's mark of 16 to become the batter with most fifty-plus scores for Sri Lanka.
"It was not an easy pitch. Hong Kong bowled well. Happy with the way am batting," said Nissanka, whose innings consisted of seven fours and two sixes.
However, he was aided by four catch drops from Hong Kong who continued to be poor on the field. Captain Yasim Murtaza conceded that dropped catches played a part in his team's defeat but he said he was proud of his boys.
"I am proud of the way the boys stood up today," Murtaza said. "We missed a few chances. In the end, the bowlers the way they fought was good. We were looking for 150-160. We dropped a few catches and that cost us the game. The positive thing is to be playing on the big stage."
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said his "heart was in the mouth" towards the end of the match.
"Disappointed about a few things. First three overs in the bowling. Then with the bat, in the 16th over we lost a few wickets including mine. Consistently, these things can't happen even in the shorter formats. We are professionals and we have to do much better," Asalanka said.
Sri Lanka will now face Afghanistan in their last Group B game on Thursday.
