Sri Lanka have been crowned champions, with Bhanuka Rajapaksa's batting pyrotechnics and Wanindu Hasaranga's all-round brilliance securing their 23-run victory.
Pakistan teenager Naseem Shah smashes back-to-back sixes in the last over against Afghanistan for a one-wicket victory that sets up the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka.
Rajapaksa touched down in Colombo seven weeks after he fled the extraordinary protests triggered by an economic meltdown that many lay at his feet.
On July 13, the ousted leader, his wife and two bodyguards left aboard an air force plane for the Maldives, before traveling to Singapore from where he officially resigned. He flew to Thailand two weeks later.
The former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a 90-day visa to remain in Thailand, but opted to return with his wife, a bodyguard and another aide.
Financial assistance from the international lender is conditional on a plan to restructure the island nation's $51 billion foreign debt after an April default.
Japan could chair such a meeting with China if that would speed up process of addressing Sri Lanka's debt, reports Reuters news agency, citing sources.
India and the United States had raised security concerns over the Yuan Wang 5 ship's visit to Sri Lanka, with New Delhi lodging a complaint that delayed the trip by a week.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the island nation last month after a huge crowd stormed his house, capping months of public anger over an unprecedented economic crisis.
Sri Lanka has referred to the Yuan Wang 5 as a “scientific research ship", but there are fears in India that the vessel could be used to surveil the region, with multiple media reports calling it a “dual-use spy ship".
The Yuan Wang 5 is described as a Chinese research and survey vessel by international shipping and analytics sites, but according to Indian media it is a dual-use spy ship.
Private Western creditors come under pressure to take a haircut as China and the Paris Club agree to sort out Zambia’s external debt crisis.
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