We were nowhere one and a half years ago, now we are a different team with youngsters: Chamika Karunaratne
"We promised to fight and give it our best. The players were pushing their limits. Everyone tried their best after the loss in the first match."
Pacer Chamika Karunaratne said this Asia Cup-winning Sri Lanka team is different from what it was one and a half years ago after beating Pakistan in the all-important final to seal their sixth Asia Cup triumph.
"We are winning after seven years. One and a half years ago, we were nowhere. Now we are a different team with youngsters," Karunaratne said after the match.
"We promised to fight and give it our best. The players were pushing their limits. Everyone tried their best after the loss in the first match."
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"There was a lot of hard work. Players pushed their limits. The boys were excellent, even after the first loss. They pushed themselves every time," he added.
Karunaratne picked up the wickets of Mohammad Nawaz and Haris Rauf in the final.
It was only the third time a team won a match in the tournament batting first. Sri Lanka didn't get off to the best of starts both with the bat and the ball but managed to post a substantial total on the board and later defended it with conviction.
Sri Lanka started the tournament on a bad note too, losing pretty badly to Afghanistan. But since then, they have been absolutely unstoppable, playing some breathtaking cricket. They defeated Bangladesh in the group stage, then defeated Afghanistan, India and Pakistan in the Super Four en route to the final.
Pacer Pramod Madhushan recorded a four-wicket haul while Wanindu Hasaranga got three after Bhanuka Rajapaksa's unbeaten 71 runs in the first innings.
