Sri Lanka’s hopes of defending their T20 Asia Cup trophy suffered a major blow on Tuesday (September 19) as they were beaten by Pakistan in their second game of the Super Four Stage at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
The Charith Asalanka-led side has now lost both their games in the second round, having earlier suffered defeat at the hands of Bangladesh.
The 2022 champions are now on the brink of an exit in the tournament and have lost both their games. They are in fourth place on the table with zero points, with the Net Run Rate (NRR) also in the negative, with just one match remaining against India on Friday (September 26).
Asia Cup 2025 Points Table
| Team | Points | Matches Played | Net Run Rate | Won | Loss | No Result |
| India | 2 | 1 | +0.689 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 2 | +0.226 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | +0.121 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 2 | -0.590 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
How Can Sri Lanka Qualify?
Sri Lanka no longer has the equation in their hands. They will be knocked out of the tournament even before they next take the field against India on Friday (September 26) in Dubai unless Bangladesh defeats both India and Pakistan.
In order to qualify, Sri Lanka needs to hope that the Tigers win both their games and they win over India. In this scenario, the 2022 champions will find themselves in a three-way tie with India and Pakistan, with NRR set to determine which team makes it forward to the summit clash.
Talking about the match, Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first. The decision proved right, as Sri Lanka only managed to post a total of 133 despite a gritty half-century from Kamindu Mendis. Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana’s two-wicket haul reduced Pakistan to 80-5, but the 2014 world champions failed to capitalize.