Pakistan face familiar Sri Lanka in Asian Games semi-final

Sri Lanka and Pakistan face each other in an upcoming Asian Games semi-final. Despite being slightly behind in the current standings, Sri Lanka holds a historic edge against Pakistan in their clashes. The two teams have met 25 times, with both sides winning 11 matches each, resulting in one no-result game. Their most recent encounter happened in the Asia Cup semi-final where Sri Lanka emerged victorious, overcoming Pakistan despite Fatima Sana's all-round performance.

In the Asian Games quarter-final, Pakistan narrowly escaped a Thailand scare, eventually losing to Sri Lanka in a rain-affected chase. Both teams have struggled with the bat of late, with Pakistan collapsing against Thailand and India in the Asia Cup, and Sri Lanka faltering against Indonesia and Bangladesh. However, Sri Lanka has managed to stay in control of games with their spinners.

Pakistan will need to overcome Sri Lanka's spin attack while avoiding another batting collapse to avenge their Asia Cup semi-final defeat. The battle will be led by captains Fatima Sana and Chamari Athapaththu, who are the leading wicket-takers for their respective teams this year. Sana has scored 475 runs at a strike rate of 148.90, while Athapaththu has amassed 638 runs at 143.04.

Athapaththu also scored a century off 37 balls against Malaysia. However, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali will miss the Asian Games due to her mother's illness.