PAK vs SL: Pakistan showed their might in the opening match of the T20I series in Dambulla, with a six-wicket victory with 20 balls to spare. Their victory was made possible by the performance of their bowlers. Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed took three wickets each, while Shadab Khan contributed with two wickets in his return to the team.
The Sri Lankan innings never gathered any momentum. Being sent to bat, they were reduced to 38/4 in the seventh over. They chased an easy target to reach 127/6 in the 18th over but lost the last four wickets for the addition of one more run.
Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub scored an opening partnership of 59 in 5.5 overs for Pakistan. Ayub got out for 24 but Farhan continued his innings and reached his fifty in 35 deliveries. Three quick wickets were lost by Pakistan when they were around 100 but by that time, it didn’t matter. Shadab scored 18 off only 12 deliveries and won the Player-of-the-Match award.
PAK vs SL: Sri Lanka’s slow start
Keeping in view the rain possibilities, the ground has been covered for the past two days. Salman Agha decided to take advantage of the wet conditions after winning the toss. His bowlers were expected to capitalise on the conditions. They didn’t disappoint him. Mirza and Mohammad Wasim mostly bowled straight lines and lengths.
As the ball was skidding and the others were holding on the surface, the batsmen found run scoring challenging. When the Sri Lanka opening batsmen, Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka, thought of going for the shots, they got dismissed. Thus, the approach taken by the batsmen allowed the Sri Lanka outfit to reach 35-2 in the powerplay overs.
Shadab’s successful comeback
It was his first international match for Pakistan after June of this year. However, he took very little time to give his team a boost. He dismissed Kusal Mendis with his third ball by lbw.
Then with his next ball, he dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva by catching him behind with a googly. De Silva had marked his return to international T20 cricket after his last appearance in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He scored a run-a-ball of 10.
Sometimes, he even made his legbreak a square one. In the third over, he had Janith Liyanage caught at long-on. But what happened was that Farhan not only dropped him, he even deflected the ball to hit a six. But nevertheless, he took 2 wickets for 25 runs in four overs.
Abrar, seamers wrap it up
Abrar Ahmed, brought into the attack in the 12th over, also picked his first over wicket. He got Charith Asalanka caught behind to leave his team with 72 for 5. He also got Liyanage dropped to his bowling; but this time, there was no mistake, as Mirza dropped an easy catch at short fine leg.
Liyanage was fortunate to have got his 23-ball 38 partnership with Wanindu Hasaranga for the sixth wicket. The duo was ruthless on Mohammad Nawaz, taking 16 runs from his 15th over.
With 106 for 5 in their favor, with five overs left, and Dasun Shanaka still to come, a 150 would have been their target. But Abrar dismissed both Hasaranga and Liyanage in consecutive overs. After that, the end came rather quickly. The last three wickets fell to Mirza Wasim.
PAK vs SL Chase: Farhan and Ayub Set the Tone
Sri Lanka had hit their first six in the tenth over of the innings, Pakistan off the tenth ball. Maheesh Theekshana bowled one full outside off and Ayub launched him over extra cover. In the next over, Farhan took Pakistan’s six tally to three with back-to-back hits off Nuwan Thushara. Sri Lanka, in their whole innings, had managed only two.
The pitch had eased out by then but at the same time, the Sri Lanka bowlers showed none of the discipline of their counterparts. Theekshana did bowl Ayub in the sixth over but Sri Lanka needed much more than that.
No miracle for Sri Lanka
Shanaka called Hasaranga straight away after the powerplay. It was like a roll of the dice. But without the pressure of the scoreboard, Farhan and Agha were free to do what they wanted. In the end, he removed Agha, of all people, from a full toss that the batsman attempted to deposit over the boundary. He concluded his spell with 1/17.
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Meanwhile, Farhan continued with the onslaught against the seamers and got the team past 100 in the 12th over. Although there was a slight turbulence around then when Pakistan lost three wickets for 12 runs in 19 balls, it made no difference.
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