Sensational Sri Lanka defy odds to seal Asia Cup triumph; beat timid Pakistan by 23 runs in final
Pakistan were too conservative in their approach with the bat. Only two of the batters of the top seven - Mohammad Rizwan (55 off 49) and Iftikhar Ahmed (32 off 31) - reached double figures but the strike-rates were too low chasing a total as high as 171.
Sri Lanka became the champions of the Asia Cup for the sixth time, beating Pakistan in the final convincingly by 23 runs. It was only the third time a team won a match in the tournament batting first. Sri Lanka didn't get off to the best of starts both with the bat and the ball but managed to post a substantial total on the board and later defended it with conviction.
Sri Lanka started the tournament on a bad note too, losing pretty badly to Afghanistan. But since then, they have been absolutely unstoppable, playing some breathtaking cricket. They defeated Bangladesh in the group stage, then defeated Afghanistan, India and Pakistan in the Super Four en route to the final.
Pakistan were too conservative in their approach with the bat. Only two of the batters of the top seven - Mohammad Rizwan (55 off 49) and Iftikhar Ahmed (32 off 31) - reached double figures but the strike-rates were too low chasing a total as high as 171. Pakistan required 61 off the last four overs but that's when Rizwan got out and the match slipped from Pakistan's hands.
Pacer Pramod Madhushan recorded a four-wicket haul while Wanindu Hasaranga got three.
Earlier, asked to bat first, Sri Lanka lost three of their top four - Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka - cheaply. In the sixth over, they were 36 for three. Dhananjaya de Silva, in at three, played well for his 28 off 21 with four fours but his dismissal left Sri Lanka in trouble at 53 for four in the 8th over.
Captain Dasun Shanaka too got out in the next over and the onus was on Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga to keep the scoreboard moving and at the same time ensure Sri Lanka didn't lose wickets.
Hasaranga got going with a boundary through deep extra cover and a six over deep third man off Mohammad Hasnain in the 13th over. A couple of overs later, the right-hander struck back-to-back boundaries off Haris Rauf before becoming the latter's third victim. Hasaranga made a counter-attacking 36 off 21. He added 58 off six overs with Rajapaksa.
5.1 overs were still in hand when Sri Lanka's last recognised batter Chamika Karunaratne joined Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa hit a four and three sixes - two off Naseem Shah and one off Hasnain - across the final five overs and to take Sri Lanka's total to 170 for six.
Rajapaksa were unbeaten on 71 off 45 with the help of six fours and three maximums. He stitched a 54-run partnership for the 7th wicket with Chamika Karunaratne.
Haris Rauf picked up three wickets for 29 runs.