ANIDubai Ahead of Asia Cup 2022 final against Pakistan, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said that the side is very excited to play in the summit clash and as a team, this is one of his country’s best Asia Cup outings.Sri Lanka and Pakistan will lock horns in the final of Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai on Sunday. “As a team, we are very excited to play the final, and Pakistan is a very good team, all the matches have been nailbiters and we are looking forward to the final,” said Shanaka to the media ahead of the final.“As a tournament, looking back, this has been one of the best Asia Cups we have had, and we are looking forward to the final,” he added.Sri Lanka has been five-time champions in Asia Cup. They won the tournament in 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008 and 2014. They are the second-most successful team in tournament history, next to India, which has won seven titles.Sri Lanka started off their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on a poor note with a loss to Afghanistan by eight wickets. But they bounced back in their next Group game, defeating Bangladesh by two wickets in a thriller, qualifying for the Super Four phase of the tournament.Sri Lanka went on a dominating run in the Super Four phase, outdoing their competition in nail-biting matches. They started off this phase with a four-wicket win over Afghanistan. Then they defeated India by six wickets in a last-over thriller. In their final Super Four phase match, they defeated Pakistan by five wickets.They finished the Super Four phase at the top of the table with three wins in three games.Our goal is to win the Cup: Babar Azam Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said it has been great for the side that throughout the tournament, many players stood up and won matches for the country.Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. “When building a team, it is great for us that different players have stood up when it counts and helped the team win matches. As a captain, this is important for me, and it helps pave the path for future success for the team as well,” said Azam to the media ahead of the match.“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,” he added.Azam said that as a team, it is their goal to perform well and win the tournament.“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, dreams of winning the trophy. As a team, our goal is to perform well and win the tournament,” he said.Pakistan has had a solid Asia Cup 2022 leading upto the final.They started off the campaign with a five-wicket loss to arch-rivals India in the group stage. However, they bounced back strongly in the next match against Hong Kong, skittling out the side for just 38 runs to earn a 155-run win.With this victory, they qualified for the Super Four phase.Pakistan started their Super Four phase with a five-wicket win against India. Then they went on to secure a fighting one-wicket win against Afghanistan in a last-over thriller. They lost their final Super Four match against Sri Lanka by five wickets.They finished the Super Four phase at the number two position in the points table with two wins in three matches.Their star-wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is their leading run-scorer. He has scored 226 runs in five matches with spinner Mohammad Nawaz being the leading wicket-taker with eight wickets so far.
