Asia Cup 2022: Final - Sri Lanka vs Pakistan: Who Said What

Sri Lanka won their sixth Asia Cup title after their 23-run victory against Pakistan in the final of the tournament at the Dubai International Stadium. The Island nation could not win the toss and instead were put to bat first by the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. The move worked out perfectly for Pakistan as they got Sri Lanka to 58 for 5 in just the ninth over. 

Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga, two of Sri Lanka's brightest prospects for future, joined hands together and got the innings back in control. While Hasaranga perished after a much needed 36-run knock, Rajapaksa started to clear the ropes at ease and suddenly, the momentum shifted in Sri Lanka's favour. Helped by some dropped catches, Sri Lanka got to a hefty total of 170 for 6 in their 20 overs with Rajapaksa remaining unbeaten on 71. 

Chasing the score, Pakistan were off to a horrific start yet again with their skipper Babar Azam falling prey to Pramod Madushan. Fakhar Zaman's poor tournament got worse as he was dismissed for a golden duck and it was left to Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed to take the run chase forward. The duo did make their presence felt for a while, however, they soon perished trying to accelerate things further. 

The other batters had no options other than slogging and it led to their downfall quickly with Wanindu Hasaranga's 17th over turning the game around. In the end, Pakistan was bundled up for 147 in their quota of 20 overs with Madushan picking up four wickets. 

Winning skipper, Dasun Shanaka said:

I want to thank the crowd; they have been supporting us massively. Hopefully we made them proud today. In IPL 2021, Chennai won the match batting first and that is what was in my mind. These youngsters know the conditions really well. Wanindu made a huge impact after losing five wickets. Chamika and DDS batted really well too. The last ball six was the turning point. 170 was the point mentally as 160 always feels chasable. As a youngster, we knew Madushanka would deliver, and as a captain we had to back him. It can happen to any team in the world. [On the first game against Afghanistan] It happened for a good reason. We had serious discussions after that game. Each and every individual did well for us and that is how we became champions. The fielding improved a lot in the finals. We had some mistakes in the league stages. We were 100% today, credit to the players and the coaching staff. I want to thank the Sri Lankan cricket board and the selectors as well.

Losing skipper, Babar Azam said:

Congratulations to Sri Lanka for playing outstanding cricket. We dominated them for the first eight overs, but the partnership that Rajapaska got was amazing. This was a true wicket and it is always nice playing in Dubai. We didn't bat according to our potential. We started well, but we gave away 15-20 extra runs and couldn't finish well. A lot of positives for us to take. In a final, the margin for mistakes is lesser. Our fielding wasn't up to the mark and the batting couldn't finish it off well. But Rizwan, Naseem and Nawaz were positives. Ups and downs will be there, but it would be nicer if we made lesser mistakes.

POTM, Bhanuka Rajapaksa said:

It was not easy out there. Pakistan were bowling well. When Wanindu came in, we got a plan. We wanted to be positive all through. When Iftikhar was bowling, Wanindu said that he would attack him. But thankfully both of us went har. I had to change my game because Pakistanis were on top. We wanted to spend some time in the crease and that helped in getting 170. When Chris (Silverwood) came out to talk to us after the 10th over, I told him that 140 was a good score. But we stayed till the end and the target was much different. The last ball six and the last over helped us with the momentum and this is a game of momentum.