Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2022 Final Highlights: SL win their 6th title, beat PAK by 23 runs in Dubai

Ravi Shastri was out there with the microphone for the toss, making his voice boom around the Dubai International Stadium. There are few better things than his voice to set up the scene for a big final but then came a tiny gaffe. He told Babar that Pakistan had last won the title in 2014. On the contrary, it was Sri Lanka who last won the title in 2014 while Pakistan's last win came before that in 2012. 

Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Danushka Gunathilaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka

Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain

Babar Azam wins the toss, Pakistan to bowl first. No injuries for them, Shadab and Naseem return. All good news here for Pakistan fans. 

Wasim Akram and Sanjay Manjrekar did the pitch report on Star Sports. "This pitch has never been used before. Looks really good pitch. For batting and for bowling. With the new ball, it might swing one or two overs tops. But this pitch is one of the best in this Asia Cup. These pitches have been the best in the world." 

Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Danushka Gunathilaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Jeffrey Vandersay, Charith Asalanka, Asitha Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Praveen Jayawickrama, Nuwanidu Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara

Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Haider Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani

Sri Lanka and Pakistan were due to meet in the final match of the Super 4. That this would be a dress rehearsal for the final, may be something not everyone thought would happen considering just how good Afghanistan were looking and the constant looming presence of India. But India fell by the wayside and Afghanistan fell to what must have been a heart breaking loss to Pakistan to end their campaign. In the final Super 4 match it was Sri Lanka who won rather comfortably by five wickets with three overs in hand. It has to be noted that Pakistan rested quite a few of their regulars for the game while Sri Lanka hardly made any changes. 

Sri Lanka's five titles leaves them behind only India, who have won seven, in the all-time list for most wins by a team. They are also the only team to have defended the title apart from India. All of this gives a reminder of just how consistently strong they were before 2015. They have won the title in 1986, 1997, 2004, 2008 and 2014. 

Pakistan have won this tournament twice. Their first win came in 2000 when they beat Sri Lanka by 39 runs in the final in Dhaka despite the latter's captain Marvan Atapattu scoring a century in the chase. They then wonm the title in 2012, beating Bangladesh in Mirpur by two runs in a thriller of a match. A young Sarfraz Ahmed's unbeaten 46 off 52 balls turned out to be a crucial knock for them.

In Babar and Rizwan, Pakistan have one of the most prolific opening pairs in the world, although they haven't quite clicked in this tournament. But they now face a team with an opening pair that have proven highly effective in this tournament. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis are Sri Lanka's highest run scorers in this tournament and their strong starts have proven vital for them in some of the epic chases they have pulled off.

Three times these two teams have met in the final of this tournament. Sri Lanka won two of these matches - in 1986 and 2014 - while Pakistan won in 2000.

Babar Azam came into this tournament on top of the world. He remains top of the rankings but hasn't quite found his groove here. The Pakistan captain has scored just 63 runs in five innings. 

Sri Lanka started out by being smashed by Afghanistan and then they go on to beat every team in the tournament. Their first match saw them slumping to an eight-wicket defeat to Mohammad Nabi's men, who chased down a target of 105 with nearly 10 overs to go. Then, they went to beat Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India in some ridiculously close matches before beating Pakistan in the last Super 4 match. They've had to host this tournament in the UAE because of the truly tragic state of affairs in their country but they may have done their fans proud already. 

Pakistan have lost just two matches in this tournament. The first was a close defeat to India in the opening match, after which their record 155-run win over Hong Kong ensured that they won't have an issue with reaching the Super 4. Once there, they only lost their last match, which was against Sri Lanka but before that, Babar Azam's men won two absolute thrillers against India and Afghanistan. While the win against India and the nature of the chase will always be special for them, the match against Afghanistan was charged with emotion. Young Naseem Shah might just have etched his name in Pakistan cricket folklore with his back to back sixes in the last over that took them to victory. 

It's time for the title decided! On the navy blue and yellow corner are the formerly mighty Sri Lanka, aiming for their sixth title and getting one step closer to reaching India's record seven. No one gave them a chance this year, considering their recent struggles to stay competitive in international cricket and their hammering by Afghanistan in their first match. On the green corner are Pakistan, looking to cap their recently discovered stability with a title, their first Asia Cup title in just under a decade.