Dasun Shanaka Devotes Asia Cup Victory to Crisis-Tracked Sri Lanka. Shanaka, the captain, called the Asia Cup victory a “real turnaround” for Sri Lankan cricket. Ahead of the T20 World Cup and dedicated it to the crisis-torn country.
Dasun Shanaka, the captain, called the Asia Cup victory a “real turnaround” for Sri Lankan cricket. Ahead of the T20 World Cup and dedicated it to the crisis-torn country. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan in the final by 23 runs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa scoring an unbeaten 71 and Wanindu Hasaranga shining with bat and ball in Dubai. The victory was nothing short of a fairytale ending for a team that began the tournament, a warm-up for the World Cup, with an embarrassing loss to Afghanistan.
But Shanaka’s men responded with five straight victories. Defeating tournament favorites India in a Super Four match and then easily defeating Pakistan twice.
“The players had been playing good cricket for two, three years, but the winning factor was missing. ” Shanaka said after Sri Lanka won its sixth Asia Cup.
“This will be a real good turnaround in our cricket; this group (of players) will be around for another five or six years, which will be a very good sign for us.”
The island nation has been in the grip of an economic crisis and political unrest for months. With blackouts, fuel shortages, and protests becoming a way of life.
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The Sri Lankan fans present at the Dubai International Stadium celebrated with drums and songs.
“They had been anticipating it for a long time, especially the final,” Shanaka told reporters. “We should dedicate this victory to the entire country.”
The Asian champions, on the other hand, will have to go through the qualifying stage in order to meet the heavyweights in the main draw of the T20 World Cup, which begins on October 22.
But Shanaka believes the qualifiers will help them adjust to life in Australia, and that momentum is already on their side.
“We played the qualifiers last year as well; we’ve had the same setup for three, four years, and the last two years have been good for us,” Shanaka explained.
“The momentum is there, and winning the Asia Cup really helps us going into the World Cup; qualifiers will really help because we will play in the conditions before the main tournament, which will be good for us.”
Coach Chris Silverwood, who was appointed to lead Sri Lanka in April after overseeing England’s humiliation in the Ashes in Australia, has been credited with the team’s newfound confidence.
The Englishman was seen conversing with Rajapaksa and Hasaranga, who scored 36 and then took 3-27 with his leg-spin during a crucial 58-run stand that lifted Sri Lanka from 58-5 to 170-6.
“He has always been a good motivator for us and wants us to play aggressive cricket,” Rajapaksa said.
“We’ve been given the freedom to play however we want. And that helps us a lot as a team and as a young unit to come here and win games like this.”
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