Sri Lanka put up fighting show against Pakistan to lift 15th Asia Cup

DUBAI: Pakistan's batting line collapsed as Sri Lanka beat them by 23 runs to lift 15th Asia Cup title here on Sunday.

An all-around performance by Sri Lanka made them the Asian champion for the sixth time. 

Set to chase 171 runs despite a brilliant start with the bowl, Pakistani batters fell short of the expectations. 

After Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva's match-saving partnership, Sri Lankan bowlers did their job to rattle Pakistan's batting line completely.

Pakistani skipper Babar Azam failed once again as he managed to score just five runs. Mohammad Rizwan was struggling to improve his strike rate throughout as his fifty was also not enough to rescue Pakistan. 

The right-handed batter scored a crawling 55 off 49 balls including four boundaries and a six. 

Rajapaksa and Hasaranga stunned Pakistani bowlers with a match-saving partnership after the bowlers in green caused havoc in the early part of the innings. 

In a high-pressure final of the T20 Asia Cup 2022 here on Sunday, Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa and Hasaranga let the hosts make an impressive comeback after they lost five wickets for just 58 runs. 

The two batters scored 58 off 36 balls to help Sri Lanka post 170-6 in 20 overs against Pakistan.

Naseem Shah provided the first-over breakthrough to Pakistan with a perfect in-swinger. Kusal Mendis failed to read the delivery and was forced to walk off for naught. 

Haris Rauf followed Naseem to pick up two early wickets to dent Sri Lanka's tone to set a high total. Iftikhar Ahmed also bowled in the final, picking up a wicket followed by Shadab Khan's wicket. 

Under pressure, Sri Lanka needed someone to put things on the right track. Rajapaksa and Hasaranga proved to be saviors for Sri Lanka. 

Hasaranga scored quick 36 off 21 balls laced with five boundaries and a six before getting out to Haris. But, Rajapaksa was unstoppable as he went out being not-out for 71 including six boundaries and three maximums. 

Rajapaksa also partnered with Chamika Karunaratne to score worthy 54 off 31 balls. 

For Pakistan, Haris picked up three wickets while Shadab, Iftikhar and Naseem bagged a wicket each.

In reply, Pakistan's opener Babar fell earlier followed by a long list of failures. Rizwan (55) and Iftikhar (32) scored a dead rubber 71-run partnership. The two batters helped Pakistan to reach 147 runs. 

Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage bagged four wickets while Hasaranga bagged three. Karunaratne took two wickets. 

Toss

Pakistan have won the toss and decided to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the final of T20 Asia Cup 2022. 

Pakistan made two changes, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan returned to the playing XI. 

Playing XIs

PAKISTAN: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka

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