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Wanindu Hasaranga and Abrar Ahmed hugged during the post-match handshakes, shared smiles, and both emulated each other's trademark celebrations. The rivalry stays on the field and that is a great sportsman's spirit displayed by the two players. 

Wanindu Hasaranga vs Pakistan in T20Is: 

Matches: 6

Innings: 6 

Wickets: 16 

Bowling Average: 9.62 

Bowling Strike-Rate: 9.00 

BBI: 3/21 

Economy: 6.31

50 or more Runs in the 6th Wicket Partnership in Men’s T20I Asia Cup:

86* – Jaker Ali & Shamim Hossain (Bangladesh) vs Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, 2025

58* – Hussain Talat & Mohammad Nawaz (Pakistan) vs Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, 2025, TONIGHT*

58 – Wanindu Hasaranga & Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka) vs Pakistan, Dubai (DICS), 2022

50* – Amir Ali & Mehran Khan (Oman) vs Hong Kong, Fatullah, 2016 

Qualification Scenarios for Sri Lanka:

-Sri Lanka will be knocked out if Bangladesh lose to India tomorrow in Dubai. That will also confirm India's place in the final.

-Sri Lanka need Bangladesh to beat India & Pakistan. Following this, Sri Lanka need to beat India by a huge margin in the final Super 4 fixture on Friday to have a chance of qualifying to the summit clash.

Hussain Talat (POTM): "First of all, thanks to god. We were well prepared for the weather. It is not easy to play in these conditions. It is difficult as it is very hot. We all know that. I took my time to settle down. 

The conditions here in UAE don't allow you to go full-fledged, even if you want to play aggressive cricket. The captain and coach discussed playing with the field and going for our best shots. The plan was to go straightaway and attack, but I just followed my gut feeling. We lost two wickets when I went in to bat. My gut feeling was to take some time, and that the boundaries would come.

There was a lot of humidity, and I told Nawaz to go after the bowling. And if there was an opportunity, I would go after the bowling. Hats off to him for the way he finished it.

Ah... I was working on my bowling with the bowling coach. We all know that teams will target me because I don't have express pace, so I have to back my plans and bowl accordingly. If I can bowl two good overs for the team, that will be a great help. And then I knew I needed to do something with the bat as well, and got this opportunity."

Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka captain): "If we lose 5 wickets before the 10 overs, it will always be hard. The surface was good. But they bowled and fielded very well in the first 10 overs. The happy thing is that we did not give up after scoring only 133 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga is a superstar with the ball. He has done so many good things for the country and he continues to do so."

Salman Ali Agha (Pakistan captain): "I always smile. Cannot say it was a perfect game. We lost four wickets in three overs, but apart from that, it could be a perfect game. We need to stop doing that. We have been doing that since Sharjah and we need to stop that.

Shane McDermott, fielding coach, has been working extremely hard with the players. We have named him rockstar, and are working hard with him. I have seen people doing extra things as well, and when you do this extra stuff, it does pay off in the ground.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has been outstanding since returning from America. He has been bowling well for so many years. He is an asset and a match-winner, and he is showing that every now and then.

(On Hussain Talat) That is why we play so many all-rounders, because nowadays the game demands a wide range of options in batting and bowling. I am very happy for him. Knowing him for several years, he has been working hard on his game and really happy for him.

Nawaz has so much potential with the bat, and hopefully, they (Nawaz and Talat) can continue. Abrar has been bowling really well. He is someone who I go for when we are in a difficult situation. An outstanding bowler, and hopefully, he can continue until the end of the season and for many years to come for Pakistan."

Sri Lanka cruised through the group stage like a raging speedster on a highway. However, their journey through the Super 4s has been akin to that of an old, rusty bicycle going through a muddy road. With this loss, they now have to depend on other results to stay in the hunt for the final.

Hence, much like all of us, they will too be having their eyes glued to India vs Bangladesh tomorrow. As always, Team Crickxo will be here to take you through every beat of that contest. Our coverage will begin at 7:00 PM IST (5:30 PM local time). Do join us then.

For now, it is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, AkshayaKrishna Polya and Paras Yadav signing off. See you soon!