Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong: Anshuman, Nizakat & The Sri Lankan Rollercoaster
The night Dubai saw a cricket match, and also a collective heart-in-mouth moment for every Sri Lankan fan.
Well, folks, if you tuned in to the **Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong** match expecting a quiet, straightforward T20 game, you were sorely mistaken. What we got instead was a high-stakes, nerve-shredding, drama-filled encounter that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. The final result says Sri Lanka won by four wickets, but what it doesn’t say is how many gray hairs were earned in the process. It was a proper, nail-biting showdown that Hong Kong, despite the loss, can be incredibly proud of.
Hong Kong’s Heroic Effort: Not Your Average Underdogs
Hong Kong walked onto the pitch with a simple mission: prove they’re not here just for the scenic views. And boy, did they deliver. The innings was held together by a beautiful partnership between **Anshuman Rath** and captain **Nizakat Khan**. Rath, with his serene 48, played the perfect anchor, building the innings brick by patient brick. He was the calm before the storm, and that storm was Nizakat. The captain’s fiery 52 not out was a masterclass in defiance. While others fell around him (spare a thought for Babar Hayat, who joined and left the party so quickly we barely had time to notice), Nizakat stood firm, hitting timely boundaries and making sure Hong Kong finished with a respectable 149. It was a total that looked chaseable, but in T20 cricket, you never know.
Key Player Highlight: Theekshana’s Silent Chokehold
You know who didn’t get any wickets but was probably the most dangerous bowler on the field? **Maheesh Theekshana**. With an economy of just 5.50, he was a magician who choked the runs like a professional wrestler. The Hong Kong batsmen were probably having nightmares about his carrom ball, because they just couldn’t get him away. Sometimes, a bowler doesn’t need to take wickets to win the game, they just need to scare the living daylights out of the batsmen.
The Sri Lankan Chase: When Winning Gets Complicated
A target of 150 should have been a walk in the park for a team like **Sri Lanka**. And for a while, it was. The chase started on a high, with **Pathum Nissanka** deciding he’d had enough of waiting and unleashing a brilliant 68 from just 44 balls. He was in such a hurry to win, he even got himself run out! His run-out at 119/3 was the moment the panic buttons were activated. What followed was a mini-meltdown that would make a toddler’s tantrum look calm. Suddenly, the scoreboard read 127/6. Sri Lankan fans, who were probably already planning their celebration posts, were now clutching their hearts and praying.
But fear not, because the great escape was on. The ever-reliable **Dasun Shanaka** and the brilliant **Wanindu Hasaranga** decided the drama had to end. Hasaranga, in particular, was in a mood, smashing a rapid 20 from just 9 balls to seal the deal with a few balls to spare. It was the kind of finish that makes you both happy for the win and furious at the unnecessary stress. We have to give a huge shout-out to Hong Kong’s bowlers, especially Yasim Murtaza, for making Sri Lanka sweat till the very end. They made a 150-run target feel like 200.
Hong Kong Innings: 149-4 (20 Ov)
| Batsman | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | Dismissal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeeshan Ali (wk) | 23 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 135.29 | c Kusal Mendis b Chameera |
| Anshuman Rath | 48 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 104.35 | c Kamindu Mendis b Chameera |
| Hayat | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 | st Kusal Mendis b W Hasaranga |
| Nizakat Khan | 52 | 38 | 4 | 2 | 136.84 | not out |
| Yasim Murtaza (c) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 125.00 | c Chameera b Shanaka |
| Aizaz Khan | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 | not out |
| Extras: 13 (b 1, lb 7, w 4, nb 1) | ||||||
| Total: 149/4 (20 Ov) | ||||||
Sri Lanka Innings: 153-6 (18.5 Ov)
| Batsman | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | Dismissal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | 68 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 154.55 | run out (Yasim Murtaza/Nizakat Khan) |
| Kusal Mendis (wk) | 11 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 78.57 | c Anshuman Rath b Ayush Shukla |
| Kamil Mishara | 19 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 105.56 | c Hayat b Aizaz Khan |
| Kusal Perera | 20 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 125.00 | lbw b Yasim Murtaza |
| Dasun Shanaka | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 | not out |
| Charith Asalanka (c) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 | c Ayush Shukla b Ehsan Khan |
| Kamindu Mendis | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | c Hayat b Yasim Murtaza |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 20 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 222.22 | not out |
| Extras: 2 (b 0, lb 1, w 0, nb 1) | ||||||
| Total: 153/6 (18.5 Ov) | ||||||
This victory for Sri Lanka was hard-fought and a testament to their resilience, but the real heroes of the day were Hong Kong for making it an absolute blockbuster. We can’t wait to see what they do next!
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