153/6 (20.0)
CR : 7.65
159/7 (20.0)
CR : 7.95
Sri Lanka A won by 6 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Dunith Wellalage
3/1923(14)
19.6
W
M Rathnayake to Y Ali
APPEAL... GIVEN OUT! LBW! Rathnayake, who had a nightmarish start with the ball today, has bowled Sri Lanka-A to a win. With this they qualify for the semifinal and will now face Pakistan-A in the knockout game on Friday. Defending champions Afghanistan-A have been knocked out. He went for the yorker yet again, at the off and middle. Yasir had shuffled towards the off side to attempt another scoop, but he failed to lay bat on ball and got pinged on his left leg, right in front. The umpire raised his finger and the celebrations began.
Y Ali 20(17)
lbw M Rathnayake
4s/6s
2/0
SR
117.65
Over 20
Bangladesh A 153/6
Yasir Ali20(17)
S M Meherob Hasan16(14)
Milan Rathnayake1-35(3.0)
11:25 PM IST, 8:55 PM Local Time: What a final over thriller in the 2025 Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup as the group stage comes to an end with Sri Lanka A qualifying for the semi-finals while the defending champions, Afghanistan A crash out. Needing 18 off the final over, Bangladesh A took it close but couldn't close it off as Milan Rathnayake brought his experience to the fore.
The Bangladeshi openers, Habibur Rahman Sohan and Jishan Alam came out aggressive in their pursuit of 160. Habibur, in particular, found the fence for fun until Traveen Mathew trapped him in front at the start of the fourth over. The dismissal didn't quite break Bangladesh A's rhythm as Jishan and Zawad Abrar played some eye-catchy strokes to help the team finish the Powerplay at 58/1.
Jishan didn't last long after that though as Ramesh Mendis pulled off a cracking catch at short extra-cover to give Dunith Wellalage his first wicket. The duo of Zawad and Bangladesh A captain, Akbar Ali rotated the strike for a while to ensure that they didn't lose wickets in quick succession. Just as Zawad looked comfortable, Garuka Sanketh produced a wicket against the run of play as he deceived the batter with a dipping yorker. Mahidul Islam Ankon also didn't last long as Wellalage produced a superb delivery to strike the off-stump.
Sri Lanka continued to tighten the noose as Wellalage produced another pivotal moment by castling Akbar Ali in the 16th over. With 40 needed off the last four overs, Bangladesh A needed a few big shots but they never came as Sanketh and Pramod Madushan used their slower deliveries to superb effect. In the end, Milan Rathnayake was tasked with defending 18 runs off the final over. Even as SM Meherob put early pressure on Milan with a six off the second delivery, the experienced seamer held his nerve to pull off a six-run win for Sri Lanka A which also took the team to the semi-finals where they will face Pakistan A.
Earlier in the matcḥ, the Sri Lankan top-order batted with a lot of intent but Abu Hider removed the opening duo of Nishan Madushka and Vishen Halambage in the 3rd over. Rakibul Hasan also produced a pearler to sneak through the defense of Lasith Croospulle as Sri Lanka A went onto end the Powerplay at 46/3.
The wickets continued to fall as Nuwanidu Fernando was trapped in front by Abdul Gaffar Saqlain in the 8th over. Sri Lanka A needed a partnership at that point and that is exactly what Sahan Arachchige and Ramesh Mendis provided. The duo eventually began to cut loose but the partnership came to a bad end as Ramesh was run-out courtesy a mix-up in the 15th over.
Dunith Wellalage, the Sri Lanka A captain walked in at No.7 and received an early reprieve as he was dropped by Mahidul Islam Ankon at short third. Wellalage made full use of the chance as he smacked a crucial 23 off 14 balls. Sahan, on his own, also reached his fifty and accelerated superbly before getting out for 69 off 49 balls on the penultimate ball of the innings. Sri Lanka A finished with a total of 159/7 which proved to be enough in the end.
The Bangladeshi openers, Habibur Rahman Sohan and Jishan Alam came out aggressive in their pursuit of 160. Habibur, in particular, found the fence for fun until Traveen Mathew trapped him in front at the start of the fourth over. The dismissal didn't quite break Bangladesh A's rhythm as Jishan and Zawad Abrar played some eye-catchy strokes to help the team finish the Powerplay at 58/1.
Jishan didn't last long after that though as Ramesh Mendis pulled off a cracking catch at short extra-cover to give Dunith Wellalage his first wicket. The duo of Zawad and Bangladesh A captain, Akbar Ali rotated the strike for a while to ensure that they didn't lose wickets in quick succession. Just as Zawad looked comfortable, Garuka Sanketh produced a wicket against the run of play as he deceived the batter with a dipping yorker. Mahidul Islam Ankon also didn't last long as Wellalage produced a superb delivery to strike the off-stump.
Sri Lanka continued to tighten the noose as Wellalage produced another pivotal moment by castling Akbar Ali in the 16th over. With 40 needed off the last four overs, Bangladesh A needed a few big shots but they never came as Sanketh and Pramod Madushan used their slower deliveries to superb effect. In the end, Milan Rathnayake was tasked with defending 18 runs off the final over. Even as SM Meherob put early pressure on Milan with a six off the second delivery, the experienced seamer held his nerve to pull off a six-run win for Sri Lanka A which also took the team to the semi-finals where they will face Pakistan A.
Earlier in the matcḥ, the Sri Lankan top-order batted with a lot of intent but Abu Hider removed the opening duo of Nishan Madushka and Vishen Halambage in the 3rd over. Rakibul Hasan also produced a pearler to sneak through the defense of Lasith Croospulle as Sri Lanka A went onto end the Powerplay at 46/3.
The wickets continued to fall as Nuwanidu Fernando was trapped in front by Abdul Gaffar Saqlain in the 8th over. Sri Lanka A needed a partnership at that point and that is exactly what Sahan Arachchige and Ramesh Mendis provided. The duo eventually began to cut loose but the partnership came to a bad end as Ramesh was run-out courtesy a mix-up in the 15th over.
Dunith Wellalage, the Sri Lanka A captain walked in at No.7 and received an early reprieve as he was dropped by Mahidul Islam Ankon at short third. Wellalage made full use of the chance as he smacked a crucial 23 off 14 balls. Sahan, on his own, also reached his fifty and accelerated superbly before getting out for 69 off 49 balls on the penultimate ball of the innings. Sri Lanka A finished with a total of 159/7 which proved to be enough in the end.
SL-A won by 6 runs
11:33 PM IST, 9:03 PM local time: Hang around. We will bring you the quotes from both the captains and the Player of the Match.
Player of the Match: Dunith Wellalage
Dunith Wellalage (Player of the Match and Sri Lanka-A captain): "Today was a very special game for us. The credit goes to Sahan Arachchige. Not an easy wicket to bat. He batted really well. Today, I am very happy as a captain. We wanted to play our normal game. We had to adjust to the wicket.
I always trust myself. All our bowlers did well. (Then, proceeds to thank the Sri Lankan supporters crowd in Sinhalese.) (On the preparation for the semifinal). We always trust ourselves. We keep believing. We try to do less mistakes."
I always trust myself. All our bowlers did well. (Then, proceeds to thank the Sri Lankan supporters crowd in Sinhalese.) (On the preparation for the semifinal). We always trust ourselves. We keep believing. We try to do less mistakes."
Akbar Ali (Bangladesh A Captain): "We should have won the game but couldn't execute the plan. We did reasonably well with the ball but maybe could have bowled well during the slog overs. When you lose, you go back to the drawing board and plan accordingly. No excuses, I should have finished the game. We will take this result on the chin. We will go through the videos and plan for them. It is a good game for both the teams. The way both Sri Lanka and Bangladeshi fans supported. I apologize to our fans for not managing to win."
So, that is it from myself, Karthik Raj my co-commentator, Darpan Tikiya as we wrap up the proceedings of this fixture. A note of thanks to our scorer, Ghanendra Singh Thakur as well. Until next time, it is a warm good-bye from us.