Asia Cup 2022, Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Highlights: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to win sixth Asia Cup title

Asia Cup title by convincingly beating Pakistan by 23 runs.

The tournament was moved out of Sri Lanka to UAE because of the prevailing political and financial crisis. On Sunday, they at least managed to restore their cricketing identity as a powerhouse from the Indian subcontinent. Known as the Lions, they were roaring again when Chamika Karunaratne knocked over Haris Rauf’s stumps off the last ball of the match. As It HappenedRajapaksa came out to bat at 36/3 in the sixth over against a Pakistan pace attack that was breathing fire after Babar Azam won the toss and expectedly elected to bowl first. And when he deposited a Naseem Shah thunderbolt over the extra cover fence off the last ball of the innings, he ensured Sri Lankan bowlers had a decent total of 170/6 on the board to try the temperament of the Pakistani batting lineup.

Once they found momentum, they hounded the Pakistan batting lineup like a pack of wolves sniffing the kill, fielding with their hearts on their sleeves and bowling with immaculate planning. The moment Babar fell for five flicking the ball to short fine-leg, Mohammad Rizwan flung his bat in frustration at the other end. Pakistan never recovered from the pressure applied on them. Rizwan decided to take it upon himself to take the match deep with his 49-ball 55 but Hasaranga and Pramod Madushan (4/20), playing in his second game, chipped away with wickets to complete a convincing win. This match was of great importance for Sri Lanka given the crisis back home. At 58/5 with their captain Dasun Shanaka gone slogging leg-spinner Shadab Khan in the ninth over, it seemed the occasion was getting to them. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain complemented Naseem in bowling with brut pace. When Naseem’s