Mohammad Rizwan admitted that the team made a lot of mistakes in the final which cost them the Asia Cup crown.
Mohammad Rizwan also said that Sri Lanka deserved to be champions at the end of the day.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa Scored A 45 Ball 71 To Ensure Sri Lanka Score 170 On Board Before Beating Pakistan By 23 Runs
The Sri Lankan team was left reeling by the Pakistan bowlers as they were reduced to just 58 for five in 8.5 overs. However, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Wanindu Hasaranga came together for a magnificent partnership to save the island nation.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa continued his fine form and scored a 45-ball 71 to ensure that Sri Lanka reached a challenging total of 170 runs in their 20 overs.
In response, Pakistan never got off the blocks, with Mohammad Rizwan being criticized for not accelerating enough in the chase. The Pakistan fielding wasn’t up to the mark as they dropped a few catches which could have changed the course of the game.
In the end, Pakistan was bundled out for 147 runs as Sri Lanka lifted their sixth Asia Cup trophy. Mohammad Rizwan was the leading run-getter for Pakistan as he scored 55 runs but he took many balls (49) which put pressure on the others. When Pakistan was in need of big shots, Mohammad Rizwan tried to play one but lost his wicket to Wanindu Hasaranga.
Mohammad Rizwan(55 off 49 balls) and Iftikhar Ahmed (32 off 31 balls) added 71 runs for the third wicket in almost 10 overs as Sri Lanka kept mounting the pressure by bowling tidily in the middle overs. Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed in the 17th over, and by then, the game had slipped through Pakistan’s hand. They needed 61 runs in the last four overs with six wickets in hand.
Mohammad Rizwan Admitted Pakistan Made Mistakes In The Asia Cup 2022 Final But Said Sri Lanka Deserved To Win
Speaking after the match, Mohammad Rizwan said that they made mistakes during the match. He said that the team played well throughout the tournament. However, in the final, Pakistan lost momentum during the first innings.
The Pakistan wicketkeeper went on to say that any team that thinks about the toss isn’t a champion team. He said Sri Lanka didn’t think of the toss and deserved to be champions at the end of the day.
“We made mistakes but we are also human,” Mohammad Rizwan said after the match. “We played well throughout the tournament. Today we lost the momentum in the first innings. In T20 cricket, whichever team has better momentum during the break has the advantage.”
“I think if any team thinks about toss, then they are not a champion team. Sri Lanka were that today, they didn’t think of toss. And then they hurt us for our mistakes. They deserved to be champions,” said Rizwan.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s inning was followed by a spirited showing in the field as Sri Lanka outmatched Pakistan’s intensity, with Wanindu Hasaranga and Pramod Madushan taking seven wickets between them during a listless batting performance.
Asia Cup 2022 Final: Sri Lanka 170 for 6 (Rajapaksa 71*, Rauf 3-29) beat Pakistan 147 all out (Rizwan 55, Madushan 4-34, Hasaranga 3-27) by 23 runs