Asia Cup 2023: Maheesh Theekshana shows frustration after being denied a review in Asia Cup clash against Pakistan

The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo is currently witnessing a high-voltage clash between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which is virtually a semi-final. The winner of this match will meet India in the summit clash of Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday.

Pakistan, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, made a steady recovery from 130/5 thanks to a counterattacking partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed. However, the Sri Lankan team missed a golden chance to dismiss the latter.

Maheesh Theekshana trapped Iftikhar Ahmed in front of the stumps in the last ball of the 35th over. He went up for a huge appeal, but the umpire was unmoved. Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Mendis had a discussion and decided against taking a review. Later, replays showed that the ball would have hit the leg stump. Theekshana, who was receiving medical treatment on the boundary line, watched the replay on the big screen and slammed the ground repeatedly to show his frustration.

Maheesh Theekshana displayed remarkable commitment by bowling his full quota of overs despite being injured.

He also expressed his frustration for not being able to use a review opportunity. Applause for his dedication! 👏 pic.twitter.com/254OYsjtuY

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) September 14, 2023

Pakistan recover in style to post a challenging first-innings total

Sri Lanka were in the ascendancy in the 28th over as Pakistan slipped to 130/5. However, a rain interruption changed proceedings drastically. After the rain break, the match was reduced to 42 over per side. It seemed that the pitch got quicker after the restart, and Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed formed a fantastic partnership of 108 runs in just 77 balls.

The 'Men in Green' eventually ended with a score of 252/7 in their 42 overs, as Rizwan remained unbeaten on 86 off 73 balls. Sri Lanka will be chasing a DLS-revised target of 252 runs. Pakistan are without two of their star pacers, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, and it will be interesting to see how youngsters like Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Zaman Khan perform under pressure.