Sri Lanka: Unbeaten champions

In Asian Cup final, Sri Lanka scored 261 runs for five wickets in 46.2 overs while former champions Pakistan scored 260 runs for five wickets in 50 overs. As a result, Sri Lanka won by five wickets with 22 balls remaining.
Now, Sri Lanka is the unbeaten champion of Asian Cup tournament. Sri Lanka have become champions for five times and runners-up for six times in the Asian Cup cricket while Pakistan were champions and runners-up twice each.
Pakistan lost three early wickets for 18 runs. During this difficult time, Fawad Alam helped Pakistan to reach a competitive score of 260 runs for five wickets with his unbeaten 114 runs that included eight fours and three sixes.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka started their batting very well. As a result, it lost its third wicket at 212 runs and the fifth wicket at 247 runs. Opener HDRL Thririmanne was the most successful batsman scoring the highest 101 runs with the help of 13 fours for Sri Lanka and he was adjudged "Player of the Series." The other notable batsmen were opener MDKJ Perera (42) and DPMD Jayawardene (75). Skipper AD Mathews' unbeaten 16 came at a good time. KC Sangakkara, the prominent batsman in the Asia Cup tournament, failed to add any run in the final match.
The most successful bowler for Pakistan was Saeed Ajmal who captured three wickets for 26 runs while SL Malinga took five wickets for 56 runs for Sri Lanka and he was adjudged the "Player of the Match." The final match was very enjoyable. Thanks to the government of Bangladesh for organising such a wonderful Asia Cup cricket tournament. Let us hope the upcoming T-20 World Cup will be equally successful. Good luck Bangladesh.
Iftu Ahmed
Aurora, IL
USA
iftuahmed@sbcglobal.net