The Asia Cup clash between Pakistan and Sri Lanka produced not only high drama with bat and ball, but also a mini-duel between two spinners that had fans buzzing. Wanindu Hasaranga and Abrar Ahmed took turns mocking each other with trademark celebrations before eventually burying the hatchet with a hug after the game.
Banter in PAK vs SL game
It all began in the first innings when Abrar dismissed Hasaranga and couldn’t resist pulling out the Sri Lankan’s trademark celebration. At the time, Sri Lanka were in deep trouble at 80/6 and eventually folded for just 133 despite Kamindu Mendis’ fighting 50. It looked like a harmless bit of banter then, but it came back to haunt Pakistan soon after.
When Pakistan raced to 43/0 in the chase, the game seemed done. But Hasaranga produced a stunning one-handed catch to remove Sahibzada Farhan and then turned the tables with the ball. He knocked over Saim Ayub and trapped Salman Ali Agha lbw in quick succession with googlies, reducing Pakistan from 45/0 to 57/4. And each time, he fired back with Abrar’s own crossed-arms celebration, sending a not-so-subtle message to his rival. Hasaranga did it while looking at the Pakistani dugout, while Abrar was caught smiling for a brief moment too.
The back-and-forth between the two spinners became the subplot of the evening, almost overshadowing the match itself for some. But once Pakistan steadied themselves through Hussain Talat (33*) and Mohammad Nawaz (29*), sealing a five-wicket win and virtually eliminating Sri Lanka from the tournament. At the post-match handshake, Hasaranga and Abrar were seen laughing and hugging, showing that the banter was all in good spirit.
