Asia Cup 2025: After India's dominance, Charith Asalanka's Sri Lanka plan to defeat Pakistan

Published - 23 Sept 2025, 10:10 IST | Updated - 23 Sept 2025, 10:19 IST

Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka stated that his team is not overly concerned about the toss ahead of their crucial Super 4 clash against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, September 23, at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Sri Lanka progressed to the Super Fours stage after securing three consecutive group-stage victories, all achieved while chasing. However, in their first encounter, batting first, they suffered a four-wicket defeat to Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. While emphasizing that the toss is not a major factor for his side, Asalanka admitted that the Lankan Lions' batting performance against Bangladesh fell short of expectations.

“In the first round, Sri Lanka successfully chased down targets in all three matches. In the Super 4s, however, we had to bat first. I don’t think the toss will have a major impact. Statistics suggest that the team batting second often has an advantage at Dubai Stadium, but we cannot rely on the toss,” said Asalanka in the pre-match press conference.

“As professionals, we must manage these situations. We batted well, and at one point we thought we could reach around 180–185, but we could have done slightly better in the final two hours. Unfortunately, it simply wasn’t our day,” he added.

The left-hander, however, backed his team to deliver strong performances against both India and Pakistan, insisting that they will bounce back from the setback against Bangladesh. He further expressed confidence that Sri Lanka still has a good chance of reaching the final. Sri Lanka are currently placed third in the Super 4 points table with a net run rate of -0.121.

“Yes, we are fully aware that this is a must-win game for us. It’s an extremely important Super 4 fixture, especially after our heavy defeat against Bangladesh in the previous match. But we have to put that behind us and focus on the matches ahead. If we can win the next two games, reaching the final is entirely possible,” Asalanka concluded.