10.43pm And as Dasun Shanaka heads out to collect the Asia Cup trophy from Shammi Silva, it is time for us to say goodbye at ESPNcricinfo. Hope you enjoyed our coverage from the UAE. Sri Lanka win their home Asia Cup, the rest of the SL players join Shanaka to celebrate with the trophy, the fireworks light up behind them again, the glitter goes up to the sky as well. See you soon for more cricket. On behalf of everyone who brought the action to you, this is Sreshth Shah saying thank you for joining us. Take care!

10.40pm Now onto the winners in this presentation. Chris Silverwood, the SL coach, is invited to collect special-edition gifts for the Sri Lanka squad. Winning captain Dasun Shanaka is then called up, and here he is for a chat: "I must thank the crowd, they were supporting us massively. And also to the fans at home, hope we made them proud. (Toss result) If I go back to IPL 2021, it was Chennai who won the final after batting first. These youngsters know conditions and situation really well. After losing five wickets, Hasaranga-Rajapaksa made a difference. Up front, Chamika and DDS batted really well too. (Chat at halfway stage) The last-ball six in the 20th over was the turnaround point. 170 is always a tricky total. (What did you tell bowlers?) It was all about nerves. I knew the youngster can always deliver. He can go wrong at the start but we have given him the trust and belief. (Loss in the first game, today the winners... what was the discussion that day?) It could happen to any good team. It happened to us for a good reason. We had serious discussions after that. We have players with good calibre, and they stood up well. That's where we became champions. (Fielding effort in final) It improved a lot by the time we reached the final. We made mistakes earlier, but final is always the final. We were 100% today, credit to players and coaching staff. I must thank SL cricket board for supporting us and backing us, not to forget the selectors.

10.36pm The presentations continue. Saqlain Mushtaq, the Pakistan coach, is invited up to collect some special-edition gifts to Pakistan's squad. Ramiz Raja then presents the runner-up cheque to Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Here's Babar: "(You had your moments today) Want to congratulate Sri Lanka. Outstanding cricket. The way we dominated them early, their partnership after that was outstanding. The pitch was good, like the Dubai wicket, always fun to play here. As a batting unit we didn't do according to our potential. (15-20 extra runs conceded?) We didn't finish the way we would've wanted to. But there are lots of positives from the tournament. Our fielding wasn't up to the mark today, and our middle-order couldn't finish well today. But there were lot of individual performances: Rizwan, Shadab, Nawaz and Naseem. The way Naseem expressed himself in his first tournament. (Batting fine tuning?) Part of the game. The more you learn from these ups and downs is good. But you need to reduce your mistakes."

10.27pm We are ready for the presentation. Ravi Shastri will be leading the proceedings. Let's get this party started, which includes Shammi Silva, Sourav Ganguly, Ramiz Raja and a few other dignitaries.

Wanindu Hasaranga, Player of the Tournament: "(Runs, wickets today, pressure today) When I went to bat, we were 60/5 so we planned that if we can score over 150 that is a good total. And I said that I will play my own role, so that's why I played my normal shots. (What did you think of the pitch?) First few overs, ball was swinging. But when I was batting, wicket was really good. (Bowling performance through the tourney) I love to bowl in subcontinent. I like to bowl on the stumps, I think that helps me successful. I try to bowl without boundaries so that's why I got three wickets in the last over today. (Fielders and catchers helped) Our boys did great job, especially after losing to Afghanistan."

Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Player of the Match for his 45-ball 71*: " (Under pressure, five down, what were you thinking?) It was not easy out there. They were bowling well. Wanindu and I had a nice plan. Nature of SL team is to be positive and not have pressure. That helped us score runs. (Did you discuss who will be the aggressor?) When Iftikhar was bowling, Wanindu wanted to attack, but fortunately both of us were getting the runs. (Mind and thought to your game today?) I had to change my game today since Pakistan were top at the moment. Had to spend some time in the crease. (Target in mind?) When Chris came to talk to us at the drinks break, I told him that it looks like a 140 pitch. And eventually we stayed till the end and the eventual target was much different. This is a game of momentum, and we set the momentum in the last over of the first innings."

Qaiser Abbas: "Thanks to last 3 games Pakistan have played. I will watch T20 World Cup very calmly and relaxing. I do not have any hopes. If they win a single match in WC it will be surprise for me atleast.(Obviously against full member teams) " -- There, there - I can understand the disappointment, but remember Pakistan were without their No. 1 pace bowler.

Sakina Esufally: "Sresth, don't forget Sri Lanka were also without their number one pace bowler... plus many others... none of the pace bowlers had even played t20i before! "

JOYDEEPSINGHGIL: "Sri Lanka have been emerging. In this year first up won the ODI series from Australia and levelled the test series and levelled the test series vs Pakistan. And in this tournament have won the Asia Cup"

Kevin07: "When SL were 50 odd for 5, thought I could sleep early for work tomorrow. It's 4am in adelaide and will continue celebrating this win! Go SL!!! Calling in sick in the morning! "

SachinVehale : "Common sense vanilla cricket will be always at the core of T20 irrespective of whatever goes into leagues around the globe. Don't need stars but simple performances."

Bhalchandra : "This Sri Lanka Asia cup win is on par with India beating Australia in Australia last year when they were down and know one thought they will win. Great win from Lanka's perspective. "

10.20pm Meanwhile, Shoaib Malik - who watched many of these games from the stands - and hasn't yet retired from internationals has tweeted:

Huzaifa: "I am Pakistani, but SriLanka is my second favourite team. This country after what it has gone through, this cricket team after all the lows the past 8 years. They define and embody resilience and the phrase that "better times are ahead." No other team I would rather lose to, congratulations Sri Lanka!"

10.15pm Dasun Shanaka and Chris Silverwood are hugging each other as the adrenaline now settles. Good luck wiping the smiles off their faces tonight. For Pakistan, there will be questions asked about their bowling plans today. Only one Nawaz over, three overs from Iftikhar, and of course, that batting approach - especially from the top 3 - which has divided cricket fans and analysts worldwide.

Abdul Qadir : "Hard to pin down a player of the series. This has been a proper team work tournament."

Shazi : "Chris Silverwood's contributions cannot go unnoticed. 12 months ago he was under the axe by the media, gets sacked, but still knew he still had something in him. He didn't come here for the contract. He wanted to prove a point. And boy did he!!"

Hamza: "All praise to the champions but i cant understand babar captaincy. Not playing haider ali even against HK. Nawaz being leading wicket taker not bowled 4 overs in final. Iftikhar not bowl in any match and given a chance in final. "

Nis: "Having watched and stayed during Sri Lanka's lowest of lows, I am out of the galaxy (not just the moon)"

Yugeesha Bimsar: "I have being watching Sri Lanka from 2015, every ball of each tests even though we were in a slide. From such lows to dominating Asia, this is such a comeback. To be fair no one expected such charisma from the Sri Lankan side, but this is just exceptional!"

Lihil: "Sorry Sreshth. All Sri Lankan fans are out on the roads lighting firecrackers and stuff. You won't get many comments.

"Chatura R: "This win took many years to come. SL was down for quite a few years, but clearly they were not out. Incredible win, that too batting first. This will bring smiles to a country facing huge pressures on the economic front. "

Namith Madampe: "A documentary should be made about this young team. That should be exciting to watch. "

Ahad: "As a Pakistani, as much as I want my team to win, I can't help but feel happy for Sri Lanka. They have been our greatest friends in the world of cricket, and they deserve success and joy as much as any nation. Congratulations Sri Lanka - I hope the World Cup final features the same teams!"

10.06pm Sri Lanka fans! Tell us how you all are feeling while we wait for the presentation. Tough decision on who the Player of the Match is or who the Player of the Series is. What a top tournament this has been. A couple of T20I classics, and finally a game that proved that toss isn't everything, more so when there's a lot riding on the line.

Dison Wijeratne: "I vividly remember watching us winning the T20 world cup in 2014. Since then we barely had any light, series after series of bad performances. players and coaches going in and out of the team through a revolving door, the absolute lows of 2016-18 and all the pain after countless collapses. This has been soo worth it after 8 painful years. Congrats Sri lanka and good luck for the world cup."

Mohammad Rizwan: (Toss) I think if any team thinks about toss, then they are not a champion team. Sri Lanka were that today, they didn't think of toss. And then they hurt us for our mistakes. They deserved to be champions. (SL 67/5 after ten overs, after that what happened?) We made mistakes. We are human. We also played well through the tournament, but we lost the momentum in the first innings. In T20 cricket, whichever team has better momentum at the change of innings has the advantage."

Arvi: "Rizwan just spoke like a true gentleman of the game, he always is"

Chris Silverwood, coach: "Kusal set the tone for us up top. He has led very well from the top. (Poor track record coming into Asia Cup) There was a confidence that the team had a talent. We just needed a method really. We worked hard and the results are showing. It was one of the reasons why we could set and defend - plan was there. (Standout players who excelled) Dilshan, the left-armer, the young seam attack, that was superb. The rest picked their hands up as well. It was a team effort."

Kusal Mendis: "I'm very happy getting the runs. Team needed more runs from me. Me and Pathum put good partnerships. We lost few early wickets today, but Bhanuka and Hasaranga did really well."

Chamika Karunaratne: "Feel so good. Winning after seven years. One and a half years ago, we were nowhere. Now we are a different team with youngsters. I feel so good. (Losing toss and winning) Coach said, don't worry, whatever happens at the toss we can do it. Show your attitude and play your normal game. We promised to fight and show ourselves. There was lot of hard work. Players pushed their limits. The boys were excellent, even after the first loss. They pushed themselves every time."

Dhananjaya de Silva: "I was practicing and ready for any game. We were sticking in our plans well. We planned well against the teams. We had a good captain and coach too."

Santosh: "Dasun Shanaka - of Sri lanka captain reminds me on Dhoni in beginning of his career where whatever decision he has taken goes his way. His bowling changes got him almost wicket every time. Great going Srikanla."

10pm Sri Lanka's win ended up being so comprehensive that we forget they were 58 for 5 tonight! Rattled by the Pakistan fast bowlers, it took a Bhanuka Rajapaksa special, a Hasaranga cameo and some astute batting from Karunaratne to lift them to 170. After that, a disastrous start with the ball, conceding nine runs off zero deliveries at the start of the innings, but remember the adage, nobody remembers how you start, all that matters is how you finish!

9.57pm Camera pans to Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka's maverick captain. He's bowled when SL needed him to, he's hit some useful runs when SL needed him to, and he deserves as much credit for the win. Sri Lanka were the true-blue motley crew of misfits who appeared to be out of sorts at the start of the tournament, but hey, #TeamWork does make the #DreamWork, and Sri Lanka are living proof of that!

9.56pm The fireworks light up the Dubai sky, and the Sri Lankan fans are hugging each other. Great energy from the squad members on the field, and good to see the Pakistan players quite genuinely happy for their opponents. Remember, it was a tough couple of weeks for the country of Pakistan as well, with floods causing big damage in their country. Pakistan wanted to win this tournament for those people affected, that couldn't happen, but they definitely have entertained fans (neutrals included) all through the tournament.

9.53pm Believe it or not, the Asia Cup champions don't even have direct qualification for the second round of the T20 World Cup tournament starting next month! Under massive pressure after losing their opening game against Afghanistan, they have beaten Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and then again Pakistan to clinch the 2022 Asia Cup.

How apt this is, considering Sri Lanka are official hosts. Economic and political situation in the country didn't allow them to host the tournament on their island, but they've conquered their home tournament albeit in the UAE.