Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir heaped praise on Sri Lanka for their Asia Cup victory over Pakistan, ending an eight-year drought on Sunday.
Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in the final of the continental tournament in Dubai. After the showdown, Gambhir showed his support to the island nation by holding the flag of Sri Lanka in front of the crowd.
Sri Lanka, who had won their Asia Cup matches by fielding first, were put into bat first in the final. Pakistan were at one point dominating the proceedings, with Sri Lanka openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka back in the dugout and the team at 23/2.
Sri Lanka continued to lose wickets as Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain piled on miseries for the hosts. However, the innings took a u-turn when Bhanuka Rajapaksa entered the scene. The Sri Lankan held his nerves and survived getting caught by Shadab Khan before lifting his team to a challenging score of 170/6.
In reply, Pramod Liyanagamage had a nightmare start as he gave away nine runs without bowling a legal delivery. The first over cost Sri Lanka 12 runs as the ball was swinging a lot. Liyanagamage then bounced back and bagged the prized wickets of Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman on consecutive balls in the fourth over. Liyanagamage finished with four wickets in his four overs.
Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne rattled the middle order of Pakistan, sharing five wickets between them. Pakistan eventually folded for 147 after batting the full 20 overs.
