SL vs PAK Asia Cup 2022 Final: Pakistan look to end decade-long Asia Cup drought, Sri Lanka eye sixth title

Asia Cup is a tournament Pakistan enjoys, but it hasn’t always reciprocated. Pakistan’s lack of success in this competition’s four-decade existence has been perplexing, given that there are only three probable destinations for this trophy, if history is any indicator. For the first half of the tournament’s history, India and Sri Lanka played musical chairs, while Pakistan was left out in the cold, appearing in only one of the first six finals.

During this period, they won the Sharjah Cup, the Nehru Cup, and even the World Cup, but the Asia Cup remained elusive. It wasn’t until 2000 that a Moin Khan-led team finally got their hands on the one piece of silverware that Pakistan had  been denied. But it took them another 12 years to win their next championship. It’s been a decade since, and while India and Sri Lanka have shared a dozen of these, Pakistan cherishes the memories of those two.

The competition has evolved; this edition is in the T20 format, and supporters have been treated to a vintage Pakistan side: crazy, exuberant, unpredictable, and, despite all odds, still here.

The manner in which India routed Afghanistan and Sri Lanka then dismantled Pakistan, those two Naseem Shah sixes truly were the difference between qualifying and elimination.

Pakistan did not appear to be headed for triumph over the last two weeks, beginning with a final-over defeat to archrival India. They inflicted a loss on that same opponent a week later to reinvigorate a flagging campaign, but slip-ups against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka suggest a lot of work still needs to be done – not just with the bat, but also, for this young side, in controlling emotions; there was evidence in that game against Afghanistan that nerves, and possibly tempers, threatened to get the better of them at crucial moments.

A Sri Lankan redemption arc, on the other hand, is a neater, easier graph to draw, but no less emotional for it. Few expected Sri Lanka to be here after being thrashed by Afghanistan by eight wickets with 10 overs to spare in the first game. They looked doomed in a difficult chase against Bangladesh, too, until Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, and Bangladesh’s own mistakes helped them sneak through to the Super 4s.

The victory over Pakistan in the final game of the Super 4 round may ensure they enter the final as favorites, but failing to emphasise the value of the coin toss would be foolish. Only three teams have successfully defended throughout the competition, including Hong Kong’s two opponents and India against Afghanistan, and while there have been plenty of close games to show it didn’t have to be that way, the importance of winning the toss cannot be stressed.

Pitch Report

It will be hot and dry again, as it has been all fortnight.

Pakistan predicted playing XI: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka predicted playing XI: Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushanka

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