Sri Lanka qualify for the Asian Championship

Yasaratne GAMAGE

Sri Lanka despite being tough in both pitching and bowling lost to Pakistan in the 10th West Asian Baseball Cup final at Punjab Stadium, Lahore Pakistan on Wednesday. Tremendous efforts by Pakistan in the second innings after a no score first innings by both teams chalked up Sri Lankans to a 4-1 victory.

Both finalists also made their way into the Asian Baseball Championship that will take place in October and will feature Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and China. Pakistan who are ranked fifth in Asia, remained unbeaten in the league tournament. Iran and Afghanistan came third and fourth respectively.

Sri Lankan National Baseball team coached by Korean Kim Jung Sun inspired baseball fans with their excellent performance in the tournament and being second best to Asia’s no 5- Pakistan is a significant achievement by Sri Lanka as an upcoming baseball team. Earlier in the tournament Sri Lanka beat Iran and Afghanistan.

Sri Lanka booked the final showdown with Pakistan after recording a convincing 15-0 win over Iran in Lahore.

Sri Lanka outplayed their lacklustre opponents with an aggressive display, hitting nine home runs in the first-innings, three in the third and fifth-innings.