Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup 2022 to become the Asian champions for the sixth time.

Apart from Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed, none of the players could perform well.

Pakistani batsmen were suffering from difficulties in chasing the target from the beginning, Babar Azam was dismissed for 22 after scoring 5 runs, then Fakhar Zaman was also bowled on the very next ball.

Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed put on a partnership of 71 runs off 59 balls and tried to get the team out of trouble.

However, Iftikhar Ahmed was out on a total of 93, he had scored 32 runs off 31 balls. 

As the Pakistani batting line-up falters, one by one all the batters return to the pavilion. 

Mohammad Nawaz also looked dull, he scored only 6 runs from 9 balls and lost his wicket. 

Similarly, Khushdal Shah 2, Asif Ali Safar and Shadab Khan could score only 8 runs while Haris Rauf could score 13 runs in the closing moments. Pakistan team was all out by scoring 147 runs in the last over. 

In this final match being played in Dubai, Pakistan won the toss and invited Sri Lanka to bat first. 

Taking advantage of the conditions, Naseem Shah bowled the first ball bowler Kaushal Mendes for a total of 2 in the first over. 

On one side, where Dhananjaya de Silva was scoring runs, on the other side, Haris Rauf caught Patham Nissanka, who scored 8 runs, for a total of 23, who scored 8 runs. 

Sri Lanka added 13 runs to the score when Haris Rauf clean bowled Dinushka Gunathilaka in a very beautiful manner. 

After that, the aggressive Dhananjaya de Silva caught him off Iftikhar Ahmed for a total of 53, he scored 28 runs. 

Shadab Khan also added his name to the list of wicket-takers when he bowled skipper Dasan Shanaka for 2 on a total of 58.

Hasaranga and Bhanuka Rajapakse gave Sri Lanka a brilliant partnership of 58 runs off 36 balls to get their team out of trouble. 

Hasaranga de Silva was caught by the wicketkeeper off Haris Rauf for a total of 116, he played an innings of 36 runs off 21 balls.

Sri Lanka’s batting charge continued for Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who not only completed his half-century in the 18th over but also brought his team close to a big total. 

Taking advantage of the chances on the seventh wicket, Bhanuka Rajapakse played an unbeaten innings of 71 runs and took the team to a total of 170. 

On the seventh wicket, he added 54 runs off 31 balls with Karunaratne, Karunaratne remained unbeaten by scoring 14 runs off 14 balls. 

On behalf of Pakistan, Haris Rauf scored 29 runs in 4 overs and took 3 wickets, while Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed got one wicket each. 

Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapuske was adjudged the man of the match while Vinandu Hasaranga De Silva was adjudged the man of the tournament. 

Playing XI:

Usman Qadir and Hasan Ali were replaced by Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah in the national team for the finals. 

Pakistan team led by captain Babar Azam included Muhammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdal Shah, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Muhammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Muhammad Hasnain. 

The Sri Lankan team consisted of captain Dasan Shanaka, Kaushal Mendes, Patham Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Vinandu Hasaranga de Silva, Mahesh Thiekshana, Pramod Madhushan and Dilshan Madhushanka. 

Finalists travel to the tournament:

It should be noted that the journey of Pakistan and Sri Lankan teams to reach the final was interesting where both the teams had to face defeat in the first matches of the event. 

After defeating India in the first stage, Pakistan team defeated Hong Kong and qualified for the second stage of the event i.e. Super Four stage.

In the Super Four, the national team got their revenge by defeating India while also defeating Afghanistan in a thrilling contest to knock them and India out of the race for the finals in the event as well as qualifying for the finals.

As for Sri Lanka, they were defeated by Afghanistan in the very first match of the first stage, but then Shanaka XI defeated Bangladesh and reached the second stage.

In the Super Four stage, Sri Lanka performed better and after taking revenge from Afghanistan, they also defeated India and qualified for the final, while they were also successful against Pakistan in the Super Four dead rubber match.