On Sunday, Sri Lanka made history by lifting the Asia Cup trophy for the sixth time in its history. They defeated the Men in Green in the final by a 23-run margin and became the new champions of the Asia Cup. This win was very special for them because not many thought that they could defeat India and Pakistan in a single tournament.
And even though it didn’t go well for them at the start of the innings, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka lost the toss and, given the track record, it looked like it would be difficult for them to defend. Notably, 90 % of the matches have been won in the Asia Cup 2022 by bowling first.
They also struggled with the bat at the start and lost five wickets for 58 runs within nine overs. But after that, Bhanuka Rajapaksa played a match-winning knock of 71* runs to take Sri Lanka to a total of 170 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga also proved his worth as an all-rounder and scored 36 off 21 balls.
However, they were very clinical while defending the target and didn’t allow the Pakistani batter to settle in the middle to play freely. Despite a 71-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed (32), Pakistan played very slowly in the middle and the required rate kept climbing up.
And once the partnership was broken, it was just a matter of time before Sri Lanka took total control. Pakistan were all out for 147 runs and lost the final by 23 runs. Rizwan made 55 runs but took 49 balls for that. Pramod Madushan took four, while Hasaranga picked up three wickets with the ball.
Afghanistan fans troll Pakistan after their loss in Asia Cup 2022
Asia Cup 2022: This loss didn’t go well with the fans, and many slammed them for a poor display of batting and slow approach. On the other hand, some fans also celebrated Sri Lanka’s win and trolled Pakistan. Some Afghanistan fans also took the opportunity and shared some trolling memes.