WATCH: Sri Lankan team's celebration in dressing room after securing 23-run win over Pakistan in Asia Cup final

Sri Lanka had a forgetful start to their 2022 Asia Cup T20 campaign when they suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Afghanistan in the tournament’s opening game on August 27 in Dubai. But the side quickly recovered from it and went on to win the next five games on the trot to bag their first Asia Cup title since the 2014 edition, and sixth overall. They got the better of fierce rivals Sri Lanka in the summit clash on Sunday (September 11).

The Dasun Shanaka-led side won the game by 23 runs to defy all odds and complete a fairytale story. In the tournament’s finale, Sri Lanka were asked to bat first and, after recovering from early slumps, they went on to post a total of 170 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets. For the Islanders, Bhanuka Rajapaksa led the scoring chart as he made a contribution of an unbeaten 71 runs from 45 balls. His innings was laced with 6 fours and 3 sixes.

In reply, Pakistan also lost two wickets at the start but then balanced the ship in between before Hasaranga changed the complexion of the game with a three-wicket 17th over. In that over, he first got rid of Mohammad Rizwan (55) and then bowled out power-hitter Asif Ali for a golden duck. On the penultimate ball, he struck again, and this time it was Khushdil Shah whose stay was cut short.

The win from there on was a mere formality and Sri Lanka managed to secure it by 23 runs. It was nothing but a fairytale rise for the Lankans. With an economic crisis back home and the ashes of a civil war still settling, nobody gave Dasun Shanaka a chance. But the combined effort of everyone paved the way.

After securing a magnificent win, Sri Lankans celebrated the occasion till late at night at Dubai International Stadium – singing, getting on top of the table and dancing. The celebration video of the players was posted by the team’s official Twitter handle on Sunday night (Monday IST).

For his outstanding performance throughout the tournament, Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga bagged the Player of the Series award.