Hasaranga, Rajapaksha route Pakistan as Sri Lanka clinch sixth Asia Cup title
Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Dubai by a score of 23 runs to win the tournament for the sixth time.
In the 2022 Asia Cup final on Sunday, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by a score of 23 runs thanks to a commanding effort.
The Sri Lankan team’s stars of the evening as they won a sixth continental championship in Dubai were Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71*) and Wanindu Hasaranga (3/27) After being given the opportunity to bat, Sri Lanka posted a competitive score of 170/6 in 20 overs, while Pakistan, after a solid 71-run third-wicket partnership, lost the initiative in the final few overs and were bowled out on 147 in a shocking batting collapse.
Naseem Shah dismissed the in-form Kusal Mendis in the first over of the game after Pakistan had requested that Sri Lanka bat first. However, Rajapaksa, along with Dhananjaya de Silva (28) and Wanindu Hasaranga (36) made valuable contributions to help the Lankans reach a high total in Dubai.
Even though Mohammad Rizwan (55), and Iftikhar Ahmed (32), put on a 71-run partnership, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam failed once more as he was out after five out of six balls. Haris Rauf (13) was the only player from positions 5 through 11 to reach double figures for the men in green.
Hasaranga, Rajapaksha route Pakistan as Sri Lanka clinch sixth Asia Cup title
Hasaranga was excellent with the ball as well, picking up three wickets while giving up just 27 runs in four overs.
Pramod Madushan, who had just played in his first T20I against the same opponents in the Asia Cup, finished with four wickets, including that of Babar Azam, to take the lead among Lankan bowlers in terms of wicket-taking.
Both Maheesh Theekshana and Chamika Karunaratne finished with two wickets each, with Maheesh Theekshana producing statistics of 1/25 for his four overs.
