'I Am Really Disappointed': Skipper Charith Asalanka Sets The Record Straight For His Players After Sri Lanka Avoid Upset Against Hong Kong

Things have heated up in Group B of the ongoing 2025 edition of the Asia Cup. With two spots up for grabs in the Super Four stage, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are all in the race to qualify for the next round. The last time the Asia Cup was played in the T20I format, Sri Lanka had defeated Pakistan to win the continental title in 2022. Sri Lanka have acquired four points from the two Asia Cup matches that they have played so far.

Charith Asalanka Reacts To Sri Lanka's Narrow Escape Against Hong Kong

Dubai International Cricket Stadium could've been a witness to one of the biggest upsets, not only in Asia Cup's history, but to the sport's history as well. Hong Kong had almost pulled off a heist against Sri Lanka while defending their target of 150 runs. Courtesy of valiant bowling efforts from Ehsan Khan and skipper Yasim Murtaza, Hong Kong had reduced Sri Lanka to 127-6 by the start of the eighteenth over.

Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka reacted to the game and said that his team needs to improve and such collapses can't keep on happening on a regular basis.

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"In that moment, I think our hearts were in our mouths. There are a few areas I am really disappointed about. First three overs when we were bowling and then the 16th over, we lost a couple of wickets and then lost my wicket. In the shorter format, these things can happen but it cannot keep happening consistently. We have to analyse it and improve ourselves," said the Sri Lanka skipper.

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Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong: As It Happened

Charith Asalanka won the toss and Sri Lanka asked Hong Kong to bat first. Anshuman Rath (48 runs off 46 balls) and Nizakat Khan (52 runs off 38 balls) helped their team reach a decent total of 149 runs in their quota of 20 overs.

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