Dhananjaya de Silva: “I was practicing and ready for any game. We were sticking to our plans well. We planned well against the teams. We had a good captain and coach too.”
Chamika Karunaratne: “Feel so good. Winning after seven years. One and a half years ago, we were nowhere. Now we are a different team with youngsters. I feel so good. (Losing toss and winning) The coach said, don’t worry, whatever happens at the toss we can do it. Show your attitude and play your normal game. We promised to fight and show ourselves. There was a lot of hard work. Players pushed their limits. The boys were excellent, even after the first loss. They pushed themselves every time.”
Kusal Mendis: “I’m very happy getting the runs. The team needed more runs from me. I and Pathum put good partnerships. We lost a few early wickets today, but Bhanuka and Hasaranga did really well.”
Chris Silverwood, coach: “Kusal set the tone for us up top. He has led very well from the top. (Poor track record coming into Asia Cup) There was confidence that the team had talent. We just needed a method really. We worked hard and the results are showing. It was one of the reasons why we could set and defend – the plan was there. (Standout players who excelled) Dilshan, the left arm, the young seam attack, that was superb. The rest picked their hands up as well. It was a team effort.”
Mohammad Rizwan: (Toss) I think if any team thinks about toss, then they are not a champion team. Sri Lanka were that today, they didn’t think of toss. And then they hurt us for our mistakes. They deserved to be champions. (SL 67/5 after ten overs, after that what happened?) We made mistakes. We are human. We also played well through the tournament, but we lost momentum in the first innings. In T20 cricket, whichever team has better momentum at the change of innings has the advantage.”
Post Match Presentation.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Player of the Match for his 45-ball 71*:
” (Under pressure, five down, what were you thinking?) It was not easy out there. They were bowling well. Wanindu and I had a nice plan. The nature of the SL team is to be positive and not have pressure. That helped us score runs. (Did you discuss who will be the aggressor?) When Iftikhar was bowling, Wanindu wanted to attack, but fortunately, both of us were getting the runs.
(Mind and thought to your game today?) I had to change my game today since Pakistan were top at the moment. Had to spend some time in the crease. (Target in mind?) When Chris came to talk to us at the drinks break, I told him that it looks like a 140 pitch. And eventually, we stayed till the end and the eventual target was much different. This is a game of momentum, and we set the momentum in the last over of the first innings.”
Wanindu Hasaranga, Player of the Tournament:
“(Runs, wickets today, pressure today) When I went to bat, we were 60/5 so we planned that if we can score over 150 that is a good total. And I said that I will play my own role, so that’s why I played my normal shots. (What did you think of the pitch?) First few overs, the ball was swinging.
But when I was batting, the wicket was really good. (Bowling performance through the tourney) I love to bowl in the subcontinent. I like to bowl on the stumps, I think that helps me be successful. I try to bowl without boundaries so that’s why I got three wickets in the last over today. (Fielders and catchers helped) Our boys did a great job, especially after losing to Afghanistan.”
Babar Azam:
“(You had your moments today) Want to congratulate Sri Lanka. Outstanding cricket. The way we dominated them early, their partnership after that was outstanding. The pitch was good, like the Dubai wicket, always fun to play here. As a batting unit, we didn’t do according to our potential. (15-20 extra runs conceded?) We didn’t finish the way we would’ve wanted to.
But there are lots of positives from the tournament. Our fielding wasn’t up to the mark today, and our middle-order couldn’t finish well today. But there were a lot of individual performances: Rizwan, Shadab, Nawaz, and Naseem. The way Naseem expressed himself in his first tournament. (Batting fine tuning?) Part of the game. The more you learn from these ups and downs is good. But you need to reduce your mistakes.”
Dasun Shanaka:
“I must thank the crowd, they were supporting us massively. And also to the fans at home, hope we made them proud. (Toss result) If I go back to IPL 2021, it was Chennai who won the final after batting first. These youngsters know conditions and situations really well. After losing five wickets, Hasaranga-Rajapaksa made a difference. Up front, Chamika and DDS batted really well too. (Chat at halfway stage) The last-ball six in the 20th over was the turnaround point. 170 is always a tricky total. (What did you tell bowlers?) It was all about nerves.
I knew the youngster can always deliver. He can go wrong at the start but we have given him the trust and belief. (Loss in the first game, today the winners… what was the discussion that day?) It could happen to any good team. It happened to us for a good reason. We had serious discussions after that. We have players of good caliber, and they stood up well. That’s where we became champions. (Fielding effort in final) It improved a lot by the time we reached the final. We made mistakes earlier, but the final is always the final. We were 100% today, credit to the players and coaching staff. I must thank the SL cricket board for supporting us and backing us, not to forget the selectors.”
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka T20I Highlights today, Sunday 11-9-2022. Final (N), Asia Cup 2022 from Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan will bowl first.
Babar Azam: “Our confidence level is high. As a team, you want to reach the final and win it. As a team, we played very well. Every match we’ve had a new Man of the Match, everyone has stepped up. No injuries. Shadab and Naseem are back, for Usman and Hasan.
Dasun Shanaka: “We would’ve bowled as well, but happy to bat first since it is the final. We’ve been playing some good cricket… want to continue that. The biggest positive has been that the batsmen have stood up, especially the openers. Madushanka and Maheesh have been great too, good cricket before the World Cup. The record has been good for us in the final and we are looking forward to another championship. Same team.”
Pakistan team: 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Khushdil Shah, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain
Sri Lanka team: 1 Kusal Mendis (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 6 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Pramod Madushan, 11 Dilshan Madushanka
Form guide
(last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWWL
Sri Lanka WWWWL
Head to Head In T20I’s: 22
Pakistan Won: 13
Sri Lanka Won: 9
Match Timings: 14:00 GMT | 18:00 Local
Umpires – Ahmed Shah Pakteen, Anil Chaudhary
TV Umpires – Masudur Rahman
Match Referee – Andy Pycroft
Reserve Umpire – Bismillah Jan Shinwari
Match number – T20I no. 1769 – Asia Cup 2022 Final
