Call it peaking at the right time and Sri Lanka have done it just right. The five-time Asia Cup champions (all of them in 50-over format) have won their last four matches in emphatic style, three of them in last-over finishes, to emerge favourites to lift the Asia Cup 2022 title when they face Pakistan in the final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
From being on the verge of elimination from the Asia Cup until they clinched a thriller over Bangladesh in the last Group B match, Sri Lanka have done most things right and consistently to give themselves a chance to lay their hands on the coveted trophy on Sunday night.
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Sri Lanka came into the Asia Cup with only two wins from 11 matches in this calendar year. Not many thought Lanka had a chance of entering the final, more so after their inauspicious start as they lost to Afghanistan after being bowled out for 105. However, they have bounced back brilliantly to win their next four matches, chasing brilliantly in three of them and making light work of Pakistan in the last Super Four match on Friday, which was a sort of dress rehearsal for Sunday’s final.
Sri Lanka are now strong favourites to win the final. Their batsmen have put up their hands and chased totals that were in excess of 170 and the job was brilliantly finished by their captain Dasun Shanaka. The experience of Kusal Mendis, the emergence of Pathum Nissanka as a T20 player, the rise in stature of Shanaka as the finisher and the supporting role by Bhanuka Rajapaksa have worked wonders for Sri Lanka in this tournament.
Like Rajapaksa said the other day, it was important for Sri Lankan cricket to do well and bring smiles to their countrymen’s faces as the island nation is facing a major economic crisis and seeking international loans from all quarters to overcome the difficult times.
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Sri Lanka, the hosts of the tournament, have their bowlers complementing their batsmen, with off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana unafraid to bowl in the Powerplay and check the flow of runs of the opposition with his variations including the carrom ball. This allows leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to bowl in the middle and end overs, putting pressure on the opposition.
It is going to be the never-say-die Sri Lankan batsmen against the fiery Pakistan bowlers in the final. The unpredictable team that Pakistan is, will put their best foot forward and look to win their third title of this Cup.
Their bowling looks superior in terms of both pace and spin, with Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain showing what they are capable of by picking up a combined 15 wickets so far and ably supported by the leg-spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, who is surprisingly the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament with eight wickets behind India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar (11).
Nawaz is known for that whirlwind knock of 42 from 20 balls that was the first big blow for India in the Super Four stage. He has quietly gone about his business of taking wickets and at an impressive economy rate of 6.05 in this tournament.
Shadab has emerged as an able all-rounder, coming in the lower middle-order and scoring useful runs with big hits coming easily off his bat, and taking crucial wickets at an even better economical rate of 5.79. Anything under 6 an over in T20Is has to be simply outstanding and Khan will provide the crucial link with both the bat and ball and make the difference between his team winning and losing.
The worrying factor for Pakistan is the form of their captain Babar Azam. With scores of 10, 9, 14, 0 and 30, Azam has dropped from being the world No. 1 T20I batsman at the start of the Asia Cup to second place as of date. His opening partner and wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan has upstaged him from that position with a series of consistent scores to be second highest run-getter with 226 runs in the tournament behind India’s Virat Kohli (276).
Sunday may just be the right time for Azam to return to form. How he copes up with the Sri Lankan spin twins will be keenly anticipated.
Sri Lanka also hold the edge over Pakistan in recent head-to-head meetings, winning their four previous head-to-head encounters starting in October 2019. This includes the last Super Four match on Friday that Sri Lanka won by three wickets with three overs to spare.
Like Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq said on Friday, “Sri Lanka will bring confidence to the final. We will bring passion and learnings to it.”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said: “As a captain leading a side in a final, it is exciting. We are now just one step away from our goal of winning the trophy. Every captain and team dream of winning the trophy. As a team, our goal is to perform well and win the tournament.
“Looking back at this tournament, we have had some great matches and some tough contests. We have seen some great performances and different players have shone and won player of the match awards.
“When building a team, it is great for us that different players have stood up when it counted and helped the team win matches. As a captain, this is important for me and helps pave the path for future success for the team.”
Azam’s Sri Lankan counterpart Shanaka said: “As a team, we are very excited to play the final. Pakistan is a very good team. All the matches have been nailbiters, and we look forward to the final. This has been one of the best Asia Cups we have had.”
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have met in the Asia Cup final three times with the Lankans winning in 1986 and 2014 while Pakistan won in 2000. Sri Lanka have also emerged second best in the past Asia Cup editions on six occasions. With five titles, Sri Lanka are the only team with maximum participation in the finals, this year being the 12th in 15 competitions.
All of Sri Lanka’s four victories in this tournament have come chasing after winning the toss. The spin of the coin has become a huge factor in this competition, especially in Dubai with six of the eight matches played at this venue so far being won by teams deciding to chase. Only India, who were put in to bat by Hong Kong and then chose to bat first against Afghanistan to challenge themselves, won defending totals.
Sunday may well be another match that will be decided by the toss. Mushtaq decided to give the least importance to the toss and instead focus on what his team needed to do, that is to play well with both bat and ball. He said: “If you want to become champions, you don’t think or talk about the toss. We do not talk about the toss. If you want to be a champion, you have to be a champion in the first innings and also in the second innings. We are quite confident.”
India may not be in the final but the two teams who have played best in this tournament deserved their places in the title round.
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