“The player will have a scan tomorrow to thoroughly check his condition,” a statement from the Sri Lanka cricket board announced.
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Sri Lanka faced a setback in their Asia Cup Super 4 match against Pakistan as spinner Maheesh Theekshana hurt his right hamstring.
“Theekshana got injured while fielding in the ongoing Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan game. He will have a scan tomorrow to fully understand his condition,” said an official statement from the Sri Lanka cricket board.
In the same match, strong performances by Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, who both scored fifties, were the key factors that helped Pakistan reach a competitive total of 252 for seven against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
🚨 Maheesh Theekshana has strained his right hamstring.
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) September 14, 2023
The player will undergo a scan tomorrow to fully assess his condition.
Theekshana sustained the injury while he was fielding during the ongoing game between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.#AsiaCup2023 #SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/6RTSRxhKNQ
Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka currently have two points each, and the victor of this match will go on to play against India in the final on Sunday.
Shafique, who scored 52 runs off 69 balls, and Rizwan, who remained unbeaten at 86 runs off 73 balls, played different but effective innings after Pakistan chose to bat first on another day affected by rain. They got some valuable support in the late stages of their innings from Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored 47 runs off 40 balls.
The sporadic rain initially shortened the match to a 45-over-per-side contest and later to 42 overs, forcing Pakistan to continually adjust their target.
The pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on, but Pakistan managed to gain some early momentum thanks to Shafique and their captain, Babar Azam, who scored 29 runs. This was especially important as they lost Fakhar Zaman early in the innings.
Shafique and Babar built a partnership of 64 runs in just over 11 overs. Shafique played his shots in a conventional manner, and his impressive cover drive off the fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana (3/65) was particularly delightful to watch.
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The left-arm spinner, who had taken five wickets against India in the previous match, showcased his skills once again by troubling Babar.
Babar expected the ball to turn inwards after it landed outside the off-stump, so he played for the spin. However, the ball actually moved away from him, leading to a quick stumping by Kusal Mendis.
After Babar’s dismissal, Pakistan faced a minor collapse as they lost three additional wickets, managing only 30 runs in the next six overs.
With the scoreboard showing 130 for five, Pakistan was at risk of posting a total that was below what they’d hoped for. The Sri Lankan spinners were attempting to control the game in the middle overs, just as they had successfully done against India.
However, Rizwan and Iftikhar shattered those hopes with an exciting partnership of 108 runs for the sixth wicket. Rizwan, an experienced wicketkeeper-batsman, hadn’t been in great form recently, but he picked the perfect time to make a valuable contribution with the bat.