Sri Lanka came into the match after a poor performance against Zimbabwe. On the other hand, Pakistan looked confident after finding form with both bat and ball. The match started with Sri Lanka opting to bat first and started aggressively, with Pathum Nissanka hitting the first ball for four and Kamil Mishara hitting 22 off just 11 balls, including two sixes and as many fours.
But once Faheem Ashraf deceived Mishara with a slower ball, Sri Lanka’s innings started to collapse. Kusal Mendis’ unnecessary run-out in the last over of the powerplay left them at 44/2 after six overs.
Abrar Ahmed removed Nissanka early in the middle overs before Nawaz delivered a stunning four-over spell of 3/16 without conceding a single boundary. He bowled Kusal Perera with a sharp turner and cleared skipper Dasun Shanaka the next ball. Only Janith Liyanage’s 41* from 38 balls saw them reach 128/7.
With only 129 required, the Pakistan openers started on a positive note. Saim Ayub smashed three boundaries in a run-over of 18 from Eshan Malinga and added 47 with Sahibzada Farhan in the powerplay.
Farhan, who has been sublime all year, continued his excellent form. He attacked anything short, especially with the draw and hook. Farhan’s dominance of backfoot legspin stood out as he punished Hasaranga and Viyaskanth for 44 runs between them.
After Ayub fell for 20, Babar Azam and Salman Agha departed for Chameera in successive balls. But Farhan remained unbeaten on 80 off 45 balls, with six fours and five sixes, to become the highest T20I score by a Pakistani against Sri Lanka, surpassing Shoaib Malik’s 57 from 2007. He finished the match in the 16th over.
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