Sri Lanka created history on Sunday (September 11) by winning the Asia Cup title for the sixth time as they defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in the final. The hosts lost their first match of the tournament to Afghanistan but thereafter won five matches in a row to lift the Asia Cup 2022 trophy in Dubai.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bowl first, and his bowlers were right on the mark as they reduced Sri Lanka to 58/5 before Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71*), Wanindu Hasaranga (36) and Chamika Karunaratne (14*) resurrected the innings to help the team set a target of 171. Haris Rauf bowled with a lot of fire to pick 3/29.
Pakistan's chase stumbled right at the start when Babar fell cheaply once again and Fakhar Zaman followed next ball for a golden duck. Mohammad Rizwan (55) and Iftikhar Ahmed (32) added a 71-run stand but took 59 balls for their partnership which left Pakistan needing 78 more in 40 balls.
Wickets fell one after another from there on as Pakistan were bowled out for 147 on the last ball of their innings to lose the final by 23 runs. This was their second defeat to Sri Lanka inside three days.
Pramod Madhushan (4/34), Wanindu Hasaranga (3/27) and Chamika Karunaratne (2/33) were the most successful bowlers for Sri Lanka as they celebrated a special victory for the team and the nation as a whole after some difficult times.
After Pakistan's defeat, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja spoke to few reporters outside the stadium, and one of the Indian reporters Rohit Juglan asked him if he had a message for the Pakistani public back home who would be quite unhappy with the loss.
Ramiz, who was perhaps not in such a good mood, for obvious reasons, responded sharply as he said “you must be from India and will be very happy now that Pakistan has lost”. He argued a bit more and then grabbed the reporter's phone before handing it back to him and walking away.
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