SL vs PAK Review: Rajapaksa fires Sri Lanka to Asia Cup victory
Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup 2022 final against Pakistan after staging a tremendous comeback in the first innings, winning their sixth Asia Cup title. Earlier in the game, Sri Lanka were put into bat first by the Pakistan skipper and the openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka could not continue their good run in the tournament as they were removed early by Pakistan’s new ball attack.
Danushka Gunathilaka and Dasun Shanaka did not stay longer while Dhananjaya de Silva played a handy inning of a 21-ball 28. However, it was the partnership between Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga that chased the course of the innings.
The duo stitched a partnership of 58 in no time for the sixth wicket and got the innings back on track for Pakistan. Rajapaksa reached half-century mark and got the side to a total of 170 for 7 alongside a handy contribution from Chamika Karunaratne.
In reply, Dilshan Madushanka did concede plenty of extras in his very first over but came back quite well. Skipper Babar Azam was dismissed cheaply yet again while Fakhar Zaman followed him the very next delivery for a golden duck. Mohammad Rizwan (55) and Ifthikhar Ahmed (32) kept the scoreboard ticking and kept their side in the hunt in the run chase for a while.
However, the pressure got onto the incoming batters and there wasn’t much contributions once the third wicket partnership ended. Rizwan got to a half-century but it was too much work to be done all alone and Pakistan lost the game by 23 runs in the end.
Top Performers of the game
Bhanuka Rajapaksa
Bhanuka Rajapaksa top scored for the Sri Lankan side with an excellent knock under pressure and bailed the side out of trouble. The left-hander remained unbeaten on 71 off 45 balls with six fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 157 and struck some breathtaking shots in his match-winning innings.
Pramod Madushan
Pramod Madushan was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka with 4 for 34 in his outstanding spell and he was the one to start the damage against the Pakistan batting lineup. The right-arm seamer has been quite impressive since coming into the playing XI and he stepped up when it mattered the most.
