"Happy with my performance, happy to get to the final," said Mendis, who was adjudged the Player of the Match. "Those two wickets fell down and we were nervous, but with Charith in the middle we had hope. He's done this in one game against Afghanistan. I think we also bowled really well, so happy to be in the final. "Wanindu, Kumara and Dusmantha are main bowlers, but we have these bowlers who are bowling well. This is a young unit."

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Winning captain Dasun Shanaka praised his team for reaching back-to-back finals. "We had the game under control, but the losing of wickets took it till the last over. We gave them a chance to come back in the game, but we knew Charith could get us home," he said. "We had a discussion before batting and we discussed the mistakes we made in the India game. We gave away wickets in the first 10 overs, and Kusal and Sadeera played brilliant knocks.

"I think they are the best players of spin in the Sri Lanka squad. And Charith, he showed great character. Special feeling, back to back finals." Disappointed with loss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam pulled up his bowlers for a below-par performance. "Sri Lanka played very well, better cricket than us. We have not been up to the mark in the bowling and fielding. That is why we lost the match," he said. "In the middle overs, we did not bowl well. That partnership cost us. We started well, ended well, but middle overs were not great. We have lacked that."

(With agency inputs)