Shaheen Shah Afridi Reacts After Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2023 Exit

Shaheen Shah Afridi reacted to the two-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in Super Four Stage that ended their Asia Cup 2023 campaign

New Delhi: Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team suffered a two-wicket loss in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 stage against Dasun Shanaka’s Sri Lanka that led to their exit from the continental tournament. Star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi expressed disappointment after the loss in the final-ball thriller against the defending champions and said they will try their best for the bigger challenge up ahead.

“Disappointed with how it finished but this is not the end. We never gave up and fought all the way, and this fighting spirit should not go down. There is a bigger challenge coming our way and we will be better prepared for it In shaa’Allah,” Shaheen Afridi wrote on the X (formerly known as Twitter).

Disappointed with how it finished but this is not the end.

We never gave up and fought all the way, and this fighting spirit should not go down.

There is a bigger challenge coming our way and we will be better prepared for it In shaa’Allah.

Pakistan Zindabad 🇵🇰💚

— Shaheen Shah Afridi (@iShaheenAfridi) September 15, 2023

Charith Asalanka struck a brilliant unbeaten 49 after Kusal Mendis (91) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (48) laid the foundation with a century stand and guided defending champions Sri Lanka to a two-wicket victory against Pakistan in a thrilling final Super 4 match and into the final of the Asia Cup.

Sri Lanka made it to the final for the 11th time in the Asia Cup and will meet India in the final. This is their second final in a row.

Chasing a DLS readjusted target of 252 in a rain-truncated 42-overs-a-side match that ended well past midnight, Sri Lanka rode on a superb performance by their middle order after Pakistan had recovered from 130/5 to post 252 thanks to a memorable rearguard partnership between Mohammad Rizwan (86 not out) and Iftikhar Ahmed (47).

But Sri Lanka survived some anxious moments in the last two overs to scrap through to the final. And it was Kusal Mendis that held the Sri Lanka innings together that set them up for victory.

Brief Score: Pakistan 252/7 in 42 overs (DLS) (Mohammad Rizwan 86, Abdullah Shafique 52; Matheesa Pathirana 3-65, Maheesh Theekshana 1-42) lost to Sri Lanka 252/8 in 42 overs (Kusal Mendis 91, Sadeera Samarawickrama 48, Charith Asalanka 49 not out; Iftikhar Ahmed 3-50, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-52) by two wickets.