Ahead of their pivotal Super 4 match against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, September 23, at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said his team is not too worried about the toss.
After winning three straight group-stage matches while chasing, Sri Lanka advanced to the Super Fours level. However, they lost to Bangladesh by four wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in their first match, where they batted first. Asalanka acknowledged that the Lankan Lions’ batting performance against Bangladesh was below par, but he insisted that the toss is not a significant role for his team.
In all three of the first round’s matches, Sri Lanka was able to effectively chase down targets. But we had to bat first in the Super 4s. The toss won’t have a significant effect, in my opinion. At Dubai Stadium, statistics indicate that the team batting second frequently has an advantage, but we can’t depend on the toss,” Asalanka stated during the pregame news conference.
We can definitely make it to the final if we win the next two games,” Asalanka said.
“We have to handle these circumstances as professionals. Although we batted effectively and believed we could reach 180–185 at one point, we could have performed a little better in the last two hours. Regretfully, it was just not our day,” he continued.
However, the left-hander insisted that his squad would recover from the loss to Bangladesh and encouraged them to put on excellent displays against both India and Pakistan. He said that he was confident Sri Lanka still had a strong chance of making it to the final. With a net run rate of -0.121, Sri Lanka is presently ranked third in the Super 4 points standings.
Yes, we are well aware that we have to win this game. This Super 4 encounter is crucial, particularly in light of our crushing loss to Bangladesh in the last game. However, we must get past that and concentrate on the upcoming games.
India
