Sri Lanka Clinches Asia Cup 2022: Rajapaksa, Hasaranga, and Madushan Lead the Triumph
Sri Lanka emerged victorious, outplaying Pakistan in all aspects of the game—batting, bowling, and fielding in an electrifying Asia Cup final 2022.
The Sri Lankan team, led by standout performances from Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Pramod Madushan, secured a 23-run victory, clinching their sixth Asia Cup title.
Pakistan 147 all out (Rizwan 55, Madushan 4-34, Hasaranga 3-27) lost against Sri Lanka 170 for 6 (Rajapaksa 71*, Rauf 3-29) by a margin of 23 runs.
Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup trophy at the end of a competition that started with unrest at home and unrest in the UAE. This beating came at the expense of Pakistan, who were outplayed in the field, outwitted with the ball, outclassed at the bat, and out-thought in terms of captaincy by an incredible Sri Lankan display that resulted in a decisive victory of 23 runs.
The foundation of the Sri Lankan innings was provided by Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who came back from 58 for 5 to record an undefeated 71 off 45 balls, helping his team to 170. Subsequently, Sri Lanka demonstrated a strong performance on the field, surpassing Pakistan’s level of energy. Wanindu Hasaranga and Pramod Madushan shared seven wickets in a lackluster batting display.
Pakistan’s start had gone so well, with Naseem Shah’s wicket in the first over seemingly setting the tone for the team. Similar to Haris Rauf, he was in incredible form, never more so than in an incredible sixth over in which he almost hit the stumps with almost every ball. At that point, Pathum Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka were both confirmed dead, and Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva would not be far behind.
Sri Lanka forced their way back into the match with a comeback led by Rajapaksa and Hasaranga, and a fierce finale guaranteed them a competitive score. Pakistan’s average ground fielding and catching helped; their greatest fielder, Shadab Khan, had an exceptionally bad game. On the other hand, Sri Lanka demonstrated on the pitch how much they desired this. Pakistan was utterly defeated in the second half after being suppressed in the first.
A relentless Sri Lankan team refused to allow Babar Azam’s team to grind through the gears, leaving them unsure of how to pace their innings. Ultimately, it was a mismatch between a team that had performed exceptionally well and a team that had never quite found its way. It was clear for a long time before it was official that Sri Lanka would win their sixth Asia Cup trophy, finishing an incredible tournament with their finest effort saved for last.
It appears that whatever talent Shaheen Afridi possessed—getting hitters out in his opening over—was transferred to Naseem while he was away. After a captivating beginning in which the 19-year-old established a fast pace practically immediately, Kusal Mendis was rendered useless by a delivery that was almost unplayable.
With a scorching pace, it headed straight for the stumps, leaving the unfortunate Mendis with little control over it. The inswinger clipped the thigh, went through the opening between bat and pad, and uprooted off stump. Pakistani fast bowling was at its most brilliant.
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There was a little bit of luck involved first, followed by amazing skill. In Rauf’s brilliant sixth over, the spinner struck the in-form Rajapaksa with a nearly unplayable leg-stump yorker off the fifth ball of his innings. The ball crunched into the batter’s foot as he played around it. Hawkeye called it the umpire’s call on impact, despite the umpire’s ruling that it was not out being upheld by the slimmest of margins. It was visible to the unaided eye from nearly every direction.
It was an enormous moment in the final, with Pakistan leading, and Rajapaksa would not let it to be wasted. Following was a spell of elegance that lasted through a phase of stabilization, during which Hasaranga, on the other hand, assumed a more active role.
Slowly but surely, Sri Lanka was making inroads against Pakistan, and Rajapaksa had amassed a half-century from 35 balls without taking many chances.
The manner he faced bowler Naseem at the end, who had started so brilliantly in the Powerplay, was the most memorable of them. In his penultimate over, he was dismissed for a backward square leg with a flick of the wrists. Then, in the final two balls of the innings, he hit a four and a six to guarantee Sri Lanka had all the momentum at the half.
Perhaps no game in history saw such a disparity at the outset of every bowling effort. Dilshan Madushanka was anything but unplayable when Pakistan’s work began with Naseem. The innings didn’t even start until the sixth ball, when the left-arm seamer opened with a no-ball and then missed four consecutive balls, one of which sailed down to the boundary for an additional four.
Without a ball being legally bowled and with a free hit to boot, Pakistan had amassed nine wickets. However, Madushanka would return with aplomb, allowing just three more runs to be made through the over, as Sri Lanka made sure it was an isolated incident rather than a sign of things to come.
It was nearly hard to single out a favorite Sri Lankan moment in the field since there was so much to appreciate. The tone was established by Madushan’s two-in-two to dismiss Babar and Fakhar Zaman. Additionally, it was beneficial that Mohammad Rizwan, who was off of form, was unable to adjust his innings to suit the demands of the opposition.
Shanaka used his bowlers very shrewdly, maybe in sharp contrast to Pakistan, who for some reason decided not to have Mohammad Nawaz bowl out his innings. It was a brilliant move to toss the ball to offspinner de Silva as left-hander Nawaz entered the batting order at number five. He made two outstanding field dives to save runs off the opening two deliveries, and then four dot balls caused the asking rate to soar to 14.
While Pakistan’s fielding could only be described as a montage of carelessness, Sri Lanka also caught like a team possessed. Ultimately, there was a significant difference in the performances given by the two teams, and the outcome was accurate.
