Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 Final, Stats Review: Sri Lanka’s sixth title, Wanindu Hasaranga’s incredible record against Pakistan, and other stats

Bhanuka Rajapaksa smashed 71* off just 45 with six fours and three maximums while Wanindu Hasaranga took 3/27 including the big fish Mohammad Rizwan as Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in the grand final to lift their sixth Asia Cup trophy. Seam bowler Pramod Madushan, playing in his just second T20I, also contributed with figures of 4/34 as Pakistan got bowled out for 147 in their pursuit of the 171 target.

Earlier, the toss favoured Pakistani skipper Babar Azam as he opted to field. In-form openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka got out for zero and eight respectively, with the former bagging his second consecutive golden duck. Dhananjaya de Silva made 28 off 21, while Danushka Gunathilaka’s disastrous form continued as he made just one. Rajapaksa then held the innings along with Hasaranga, who slammed 36 off 21. Both helped the Lankan Lions in reaching a competitive total of 170/6 in 20 overs. Haris Rauf was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers for his spell of 3/29.

In reply, Babar’s horrendous campaign stretched as he got out for just five, finishing the tournament with just 68 runs in six innings. Fakhar Zaman’s poor form in the Asia Cup was also on display with him grabbing a golden duck. Mohammad Rizwan kept going for the Men in Green but he was too slow in his approach for the run-chase. Iftikhar Ahmed also made just 32 after facing 31 deliveries at a strike rate of 103.23.

Spinner Hasaranga then turned the match and the final in favour of his side by picking up Rizwan who made 55 off 49. Asif Ali registered back-to-back golden ducks with him getting bowled to Hasaranga in the same over. With this, the target seemed to be out of reach for Pakistan as they lost yet another final after 2014 to the same opponents. The exciting and impressive Sri Lankan team won the Asia Cup 2022 title, their sixth in the history of the tournament.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the Asia Cup 2022 Final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan:

3 – For the third time in six innings, Kusal Mendis got dismissed in the first over in this Asia Cup.

68 – Babar Azam managed to score just 68 runs in six innings at an average of 11.33 and a strike rate of 107.93 with the highest score of 30 in this Asia Cup.

2 – Haris Rauf scripted his joint-second best figures of 3/29 in T20 internationals. He grabbed the same figures against New Zealand in Auckland in 2020. His spell of 4/22 against the Kiwis in Sharjah in 2021 remains at the top.

2 – Mendis recorded back-to-back T20I golden ducks and both of them have come against Pakistan in this Asia Cup.

5 – Fakhar Zaman registered his fifth duck in the format and interestingly, all five have been golden ducks.

2 – Bhanuka Rajapaksa achieved his second-highest score of 71* in T20Is. His best of 77 also came against Pakistan in Lahore in 2019.

1 – For the first time, a team added a 50-plus partnership for the sixth and seventh wicket in an innings in T20Is. Rajapaksa shared 58 and 54* runs stand with Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne respectively.

10.50 – Danushka Ganuthilaka scored 63 runs in six innings at an average of just 10.50 and a strike rate of 108.62 with the best score of 33 in this tournament.

2 – Asif Ali suffered his second consecutive golden duck and got dismissed by spinner Wanindu Hasaranga on both the ocassions.

1 – For the first time in eight matches, Sri Lanka won while batting first in T20Is in 2022. They lost all previous seven encounters defending the targets.

5 – Mendis is now tied with Thisara Perera on the third spot for registering most ducks (5) for Sri Lanka in T20Is. (position 1-7). Tilakaratne Dilshan and Dasun Shanaka are in the top two positions for ten and nine ducks respectively.

14 – Hasaranga has now snared 14 scalps in five innings at an average of 9.07 and an economy rate of just 6.35 against Pakistan in the shortest international format.

6 – Sri Lanka lifted their sixth Asia Cup trophy and the first after 2014 when they defeated the same opponent Pakistan in Mirpur.

4 - Wanindu Hasaranga has dismissed Asif Ali four times, which is the joint-highest by any bowler, along with Junaid Khan and Sunil Narine in all T20s.

2014 – For the first time, the Sri Lanka won five consecutive T20Is since 2014.