Sri Lanka won the T20 Asia Cup in 2022 after defeating Pakistan in the final. The tournament’s 2022 edition began on August 27 with six nations competing: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Hong Kong. The first Asia Cup was contested in 1984 in the United Arab Emirates, with India and Sri Lanka participating in the final match. For the first time, the Men in Blue won the Asia Cup. The second Asia Cup was contested in 1986, with Sri Lanka, the previous edition’s runners-up, winning the cup after beating Pakistan.
The 12th edition of the Asian Cup
The 12th edition of the Asian Cup, crowned by T20 world champions Sri Lanka, was a more interesting edition with many close matches throughout the tournament, although Sri Lanka easily won the final game by five wickets against Pakistan. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has won the prestigious trophy five times and Pakistan has also won the Asian Cup twice. Bangladesh considers themselves unlucky not to win the Asian Cup final, which he has reached three times.
Player of the Series Asia Cup 2022
Wanindu Hasaranga played a key part in Sri Lanka’s victory, and the all-rounder was appropriately awarded the player of the tournament trophy in Asia Cup 2022 following the final. Wanindu Hasaranga received a reward cheque of $15,000 for becoming the Tournament’s Player. Hasaranga’s most significant contribution came in the final when he scored a furious 36 off only one ball. He followed it up with a 4-0-27-3 outing to put the game away and help the Islanders advance to the championship game. Wanindu Hasaranga has picked up all 3 important wickets of Pakistani Match finishers Iftekhar, Asif & Khushdil that turn the table for Srilanka to win the Final & lift the Trophy of Asia Cup 2022. Wanindu Hasaranga has picked 9 wickets in just 6 matches of Asia Cup 2022, the second highest wicket-taker in that tournament.
Hasaranga and Rajapaksa lead Sri Lanka to their sixth Asia Cup victory.
On Sunday 11th September 2022, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by the margin of 23 runs to lift the Asia Cup 2022. After being put in to bat, Sri Lanka scored 170/6. Sri Lanka’s top scorer was Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who hit 71 off 45 balls. Haris Rauf was Pakistan’s outstanding bowler, taking three wickets. Pakistan’s whole team contributed 147 runs of which half of the runs were made by Mohammad Rizwan & all out in 20 overs in response.
Wanindu Hasaranga: When I came out to bat at 58/5, Bhanuka and I had hoped to reach 150, which was a respectable total. I assured him I’d play my part and take my chances. The ball swung in the opening few overs, but the wicket was absolutely nice when I batted. In the subcontinent, I enjoy bowling. In these situations, I look to bowl at the stumps, which is why I am successful. I attempt to bowl dot balls and bowl tight. Our guys performed admirably throughout the competition, particularly following our setback against Afghanistan.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa: It was difficult out there. Pakistan was bowling quite well. We devised a strategy when Wanindu arrived. We wanted to have a cheerful attitude throughout. Wanindu threatened to attack Iftikhar when he was bowling. But, happily, we both went har. I had to adjust my strategy since the Pakistanis were dominating. We intended to spend some time in the crease, which contributed to our score of 170. I informed Chris (Silverwood) that 140 was a fantastic score when he came out to talk to us after the 10th over. But we stayed till the finish, and the goal was very different. The last ball six and the last over gave us momentum, and this game is all about momentum.