The victory was Sri Lanka's 100th Test win in their history, in what was a milestone moment for the nation. Sri Lanka first played their maiden Test match in 1982 and have played 311 Tests.
Batting first, Sri Lanka put in a high score of 196 losing 5 wickets which New Zealand tied with the comprehensive performance of NZ batters Daryl Mitchell's 66 off 44 balls & Mark Chapman's 33 off 23 balls and effective 10 runs off 4 runs by all-rounder Ish Sodhi in the end.
The make-up of Group 1 means that South Africa will now have to likely beat both of the group's higher-ranked sides (Australia and New Zealand) if they are to reach the semi-finals. It is a huge blow for the tournament hosts, who will have to play out of their skins if they are to repeat the
England would be looking to register a win against the Asia Champions to secure a place in the semi-finals. A loss will see them flying back to the United Kingdom.
While India romped home against Thailand to claim yet another Asia Cup final berth, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by a small margin - just one run - to advance to their maiden Asia Cup final in 14 years.
Oshadi Ranasinghe top-scored for Sri Lanka with an 18-ball 23* helping Sri Lanka reach a below-par total of 105/7 from 20 overs. Malaysian Sasha Azmi bowled a brilliant spell giving away just 10 runs in four overs and picking up two wickets.
Having defeated Pakistan by a margin of 23 runs, Sri Lanka won the cup for the sixth time in the history of the Asia Cup; their first however since 2014.
Taking to their official Twitter handle Sri Lanka Cricket shared photos of the overjoyed players travelling in a double-decker bus, with fans congratulating them.
On being questioned about the lack of intent in Mohammad Rizwan's innings, the coach said that the way Rizwan plays has worked for the team in the past and they cannot just copy a certain type of play because each player has its own style of playing.
A brilliant half-century from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and fiery spells from spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and pacer Pramod Madushan helped Sri Lanka lift its sixth Asia Cup title, defeating Pakistan by 24 runs in the final in Dubai on Sunday