WHO: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Contents: T20 Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours
When: Tuesday, September 23rd, 6:30pm (14:30 GMT)
Location: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
How to Follow: Al Jazeera Sport will do a live buildup from 11:00 GMT ahead of the comprehensive text commentary stream of the match.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka will hold the tournament in the Super Four match at the T20 Asian Cup 2025, knowing that losses in Abu Dhabi could endanger their position in the tournament.
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Both former champions lost their opening game in the second phase of the regional tournament, and Tuesday’s match offers them the opportunity to revive their final campaign.
The top two round-robin style Superforce teams will compete in the finals in Dubai on Sunday.
Other Super Four Teams in Bangladesh and India have two points on the board, each after their respective victory over Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Six-time winner Sri Lanka was framed by the Tigers with four wickets in a close-up fight match on Saturday, but Pakistan took on Sunday for the second loss in eight days at Indian hands.
Charit Asalanka’s team is undefeated in Group B and will start as a favorite against Pakistan who hit beats at the last five T20 International (T20I) meetings.
For Pakistan’s two-time champions, this match offers an opportunity to recover some pride after two big losses against Arch Rivals India.
Watching Player: Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman: The veteran batsman returned to the team after a layoff that forced him to suffer a long injury. And although he hasn’t consistently posted a big score, Zaman is known to lower opposition bowlers morale when he falls into flow. The longer the opener stays in the crease, the more likely it is that Pakistan will post or chase a larger target. Abrar Ahmed: The glasses-wearing leg spinner was Pakistan’s most economical bowler in the tournament despite winning four wickets in four Asian Cup games so far. His tight spells often force opposing batsmen to attack other bowlers and lose wickets on the other side, making Abral a key figure in the Pakistani lineup.
Players to watch: Sri Lanka
Pathum nissanka: The Sri Lankan opener enjoys an exceptional format, scoring a minimum of 30 runs with 124 strike rates in 16 of his final 25 innings at T20IS. In the 2025 Asian Cup, Nissanka is second on the running chart with 146 runs in four matches. Wanindu Hasaranga: Hasaranga’s position on the Sri Lankan side has been devastated by frequent injuries, but the leg spin bowling all-round remains an important member of the team. He won five wickets in five Asian Cup matches in 2025 at the under-6 economic rate. Hasaranga enjoyed playing against Pakistan, winning 14 wickets and scoring 61 runs in five matches against the 2012 Asian champions.
Superforce Point Table and Qualification Scenarios
India sits on a Super Four Table with two points and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.689, followed by Bangladesh with the same number of points, but the NRR is 0.121.
Winners of Tuesday’s match could be ranked from 1st to 3rd based on NRR, and although the losers have not yet gone out, they hope they will win their final match with a big margin and that other results will go their way.
Points table 📊
Super4️⃣s is off to a thrilling start. They record conflicts between their respective rivals and important victory occupying the top spot.
– AsianCricketCouncil (@accmedia1) September 22, 2025
Head-to-eye: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in T20IS
Pakistan led Sri Lanka overall in T20I results, but the Lions have been the dominant team in this format over the past six years.
Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka 13 23 times, but his final T20I victory over the Lions came in 2019.
Form Guide: Pakistan
Pakistan got hot and cold in the T20 Asian Cup, winning the lower ranked team Oman and the UAE, losing a match against defending champion India.
As always, it is difficult to predict which Pakistani team (hot, cold or cold) will appear on the match day.
The last 5 results (latest first): lwlww
Form Guide: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka beat all three of Group B before Super Forros against Bangladesh, but had the resulting mixed bag at T20IS in 2025.
The last 5 results (latest first): lww
Team News: Pakistan
Pakistan, as expected, made some changes to XIS over the course of the tournament, but not all of them paid off.
The exclusion of belliger batsman Hasan Nawaz from the team facing India on Sunday came across criticism, especially as his replacement player Hussein Taratt did not improve Nawaz’s performance.
Salman Agha’s team switched between two spinners and pace bowlers.
Nawaz and Spinner Sufiyan Muqeem were able to return to Sri Lanka.
Predicted Xi: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (Captain), Mohammad Haris (Wicketkeeper), Hasan Nawaz/Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shahafridi/Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahhhemem
Team News: Sri Lanka
The low-ranking batter Kamil Mishara spot in XI’s performance is scrutinized given his low strike rate and score in the last three matches. Janith Liyanage was able to replace Mishara on Tuesday.
Predicted XI: Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (Wicketkeeper), Kamil Mishara/Janith Liyanage, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (Captain), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Welwarag
