Picture Credit: Twitter
Sri Lanka kept their best performance for the final as they defeated Pakistan to win the Asia Cup 2022. The Dasun Shanaka-led side registered a 23-run victory in the finale to win the Continental Tournament for the sixth time.
The Lankans had an incredible all-around performance to win the game as they were reduced to 58/5 at one stage. But thanks to Bhanuka Rajapaksa's resilient knock of 71 runs, the Lankan Lions posted 170/6 in 20 overs. Then in the second innings, they folded Pakistan for 147 and won the final by 23 runs.
After the win, former India batter Gautam Gambhir also congratulated the Asia Cup Champions as he was seen posing with the Sri Lankan flag in front of the Lankan supporters. Gambhir posted a video of the moment on his Twitter account and he wrote: "Superstar team...Truly deserving!!#CongratsSriLanka."
Superstar team…Truly deserving!! #CongratsSriLanka pic.twitter.com/mVshOmhzhe
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) September 11, 2022
Bhanuka Rajapaksa won the Player of the Match award for an incredible 71-run knock. Reacting to this performance, the 30-year-old praised the fans for their constant support throughout the tournament. He said, “It was not easy out there. Pakistan were bowling well. When Wanindu came in, we got a plan. We wanted to be positive all through. When Iftikhar was bowling, Wanindu said that he would attack him. But thankfully both of us went hard. I had to change my game because Pakistanis were on top.”
He further talked about his thought process during his innings. He said, “We wanted to spend some time in the crease and that helped in getting 170. When Chris (Silverwood) came out to talk to us after the 10th over, I told him that 140 was a good score. But we stayed till the end and the target was much different. The last ball six and the last over helped us with the momentum and this is a game of momentum.”
