Asia Cup 2022: Bhanuka Rajapaksa hails 'great win' as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to win title

Sri Lanka's cricket has proved a point to the world with their sixth Asia Cup title after his unbeaten 71 set up a commanding 23-run win over Pakistan. Fast bowler Pramod Madushan (4-34) and Wanindu Hasaranga (3-27) shared seven wickets between them to bowl out Pakistan for 147 while chasing 171 in Dubai. Earlier the left-handed Rajapaksa put on a key 58-run stand for the sixth wicket with Hasaranga, who hit 36, to help Sri Lanka to 170-6 after being in trouble at 58-5. Sri Lanka, who had to abandon plans to host the competition due to political unrest, bounced back from an embarrassing opening defeat by Afghanistan to win the tournament, a curtain-raiser for next month's T20 World Cup in Australia. "We always wanted to show the whole world (what we can do)," said man of the match Rajapaksa. "Some decades back we had some sort of aggression in our side and we wanted to create those moments again. As a unit we are doing fantastically well at the moment and we look forward to the World Cup."

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Pramod Madushan and Wanindu Hasaranga shared 7 wickets between them as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 23 runs to win their sixth Asia Cup title on Sunday. Chasing 171 for victory, Pakistan were bowled out for 147 with Madushan claiming four wickets and Hasaranga taking 3-27 in Dubai. Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Rajapaksa said: "As a nation it's a great win with all the crisis happening back home, these are tough times for Sri Lankans. We hope we brought some smiles on their faces." The Asia Cup success for the cricket-crazy nation comes after miserable months of severe economic crisis followed by blackouts, fuel shortages and protests. Sri