The 2023 Asia Cup Final was the final of the

2023 Asia Cup The 2023 Asia Cup (also known as Super 11 Asia Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the men's Asia Cup cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players ...

, a

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

tournament, and was played on 17 September 2023 in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. Sri Lanka were the defending champions. India beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to win their eighth title. Sri Lanka's total of 50 is the lowest total in any ODI tournament final.

Background

In June 2020, following a meeting with the

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is a cricket organization which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of Cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional administrati ...

(ACC), the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

(PCB) said they would be willing to let Sri Lanka host the 2020 Asia Cup, with India unwilling to travel to Pakistan. The ACC issued a press release following the meeting stating that "in light of the impact and consequences of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, possible venue options for the Asia Cup 2020 were discussed and it was decided to take the final decision in due course". In July 2020, an official announcement of the postponement was made by the ACC. The 2020 edition was rescheduled to take place in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in June 2021. In March 2021, the tournament was at risk of a further postponement after

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

qualified for the final of the

World Test Championship The ICC World Test Championship, often shortened to WTC, is a biennial cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. It is played over two years and is the premier championship for Test cricket. The winners of the tourn ...

, which clashed with the proposed dates in June. The tournament postponed once again to 2023. In May 2021, the ACC announced that the 2021 tournament would be deferred to 2023, citing that it would be difficult to schedule the tournament due to the continued impact of COVID-19 on the scheduling of other cricket events. Pakistan was scheduled to host the

2022 Asia Cup The 2022 Asia Cup (also known as DP World Asia Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, with the matches played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) during August and September 2022 in the United Arab Em ...

after retaining the rights to host the 2022 edition. However, in October 2021, following a meeting with the ACC,

Ramiz Raja 'Ramiz Hasan Raja (; born 14 August 1962) is a Pakistani cricket sports commentator and former cricketer who served as the 36th Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from 2021 to 2022. He played international cricket for the Pakistan na ...

confirmed that Pakistan would host the tournament in 2023, with Sri Lanka hosting the 2022 edition. In October 2022, the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

(BCCI) secretary and ACC President

Jay Shah Jay Amitbhai Shah (born 22 September 1988) is an Indian cricket administrator and businessman, and the Chairman of the International Cricket Council ( ICC) since December 2024. He was the President of the Asian Cricket Council, establishing h ...

said that India would not travel to Pakistan with the ongoing political tension between the two countries. Despite Pakistan being confirmed as hosts earlier, he stated that "the Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue." In reply to this statement, the

(PCB) requested for an emergency meeting of the ACC board to discuss "this important and sensitive matter". The PCB said that this statement could impact on Pakistan's participation in the 2023 CWC and other ICC events in India in the 2024–2031 cycle. In December 2022, the then PCB chairman

informed that Pakistan might consider pulling out of this tournament if their hosting rights are withdrawn because of India's unwillingness to travel to Pakistan. However, in January 2023, ACC confirmed the teams and groups of the tournament, with both India and Pakistan taking part. In March 2023, it was proposed Pakistan remain as hosts and all India matches including at least two India-Pakistan contests to be played at a neutral venue yet to be confirmed. The hybrid model proposed by Pakistan was rejected by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In response, PCB Chairman

Najam Sethi Najam Aziz Sethi ( Punjabi, Urdu: نجم عزیز سیٹھی; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator. He is the current chief executive officer (CEO) of Mitchell's. Previously, he served as the Chai ...

proposed two options. The first option was that India play all their matches at a neutral venue with Pakistan hosting the rest of the teams. The second option was that four matches in the group stage take place in Pakistan whereas the second phase, in which matches played by the Indian team followed by the next stage matches including the final, be played at a neutral venue. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh agreed to the second option. On 15 June 2023, the

announced that the tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka.

Road to the final

Venue

The Asia Cup 2023 final was held at the

R. Premadasa Stadium The Ranasinghe Premadasa Cricket Stadium (RPS) (, ; formerly known as Khettarama Stadium) is a cricket stadium on Khettarama Road, in the Maligawatta suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The stadium was, before June 1994, known as the Khettarama Cricke ...

in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 17 September 2023. It has a capacity of 35,000.

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national ...

through a press release informed that all the tickets were sold out and advised the spectators not to rush in front of ticket counters for new tickets.

Match

Match officials

* On-field

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Richard Illingworth Richard Keith Illingworth (born 23 August 1963) is an English former cricketer, who is currently an umpire. The bulk of his domestic cricketing career was with Worcestershire, although he had a spell with Derbyshire, and overseas with Natal. H ...

(Eng) and

Ahmed Shah Pakteen Ahmed Shah Pakteen (born 1 January 1977) is a cricket umpire from Afghanistan. He is currently a member of International Panel of ICC Umpires. Pakteen has stood in matches in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup. On 14 January 2017 he made h ...

(Afg) *

Third umpire The third umpire (or TV Umpire) is an off- field umpire used in some cricket matches, particularly international matches. Their role is to make the final decision in questions referred to them by the two on-field umpires or the players. The ...

Chris Gaffaney __NOTOC__ Christopher Blair Gaffaney (born 30 November 1975) is a New Zealand cricket umpire and former cricketer who played for Otago. He became an umpire after retiring as a player. A right-handed batsman, he played in 83 first-class and 11 ...

(NZ) * Reserve umpire:

Jayaraman Madanagopal Jayaraman Madanagopal (born 7 November 1974) is an Indian cricket umpire and former first-class cricketer. Having officiated in matches in the Ranji Trophy, Madanagopal stood in his first Twenty20 International (T20I), between India and New Zea ...

(Ind) *

Match referee A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...

David Boon David Clarence Boon (born 29 December 1960) is an Australian cricket match referee, former cricket commentator and Australian cricket team, international cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1996. A right-han ...

(Aus) * Toss: Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.

Summary

Scorecard

Source
ESPNcricinfo
'' Fall of wickets: 1/1 (K. Perera, 0.3 ov), 8/2 (Nissanka, 3.1 ov), 8/3 (Samarawickrama, 3.3 ov), 8/4 (Asalanka, 3.4 ov), 12/5 (D. de Silva, 3.6 ov), 12/6 (Shanaka, 5.4 ov), 33/7 (K. Mendis, 11.2 ov), 40/8 (Wellalage, 12.3 ov), 50/9 (Madushan, 15.1 ov), 50/10 (Pathirana, 15.2 ov)

References

{{Asia Cup Asia Cup finals 2023 Asia Cup Asia Cup Final 2023 in Sri Lankan cricket