Asia Cup 2022: Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa dedicates title to 'crisis-hit' island nation

Sri Lanka's Asia Cup winning hero Bhanuka Rajapaksha, who played an important role in his side's Asia Cup victory, has dedicated the title to his crisis-hit island nation.

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 23 runs in the final clash on Sunday to clinch the Asia Cup title for the sixth time.

Batting first, Sri Lanka were reduced to 67/5 but Rajapaksha (71 off 45 balls) and Wanindu Hasaranga (36 off 21 balls) turned the tables to reach a competitive 170/6.

"We always wanted to show the world - a couple of decades back, we had aggression on our side, and we wanted to



create those moments (again) as a unit," Rajapaksa said at the post-match press conference.

"Looking forward, we want to keep up this momentum ahead of the World Cup. With the crisis happening back home, this is a tough time for all the Sri Lankans, but hope we brought some smiles on the faces of our people."

"This is to the whole nation; they were waiting for this for so long," he added.

Earlier, the Asia Cup was scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka. However, amidst the political unrest in the country, the Asia Cup was shifted from the island nation to UAE.