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Lahiru Udara’s 91 was the only bright spark in an otherwise hapless batting performance from Sri Lanka-by Sunil Thenabadu
Pakistan 187 for 6 (Farhan 89, Sadaqat 50, Malinga 2-33) beat Sri Lanka 182 for 8 (Udara 91, Naseem 3-36, Imran 2-21) by 4 wickets
Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his ascension to the captaincy in grand style, smashing a 53-ball 89 that blazed his side to a comprehensive win in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. After Sri Lanka won the toss in Rawalpindi and somewhat curiously opted to set a target, the 182 they put up was made to look inadequate by a bellicose Pakistan‘s showing up top that put up 70 in the powerplay and scarcely slowed down after. Maaz Sadaqat, who needed just 28 balls to bring up his half-century, put up a 92-run stand with Farhan after Fakhar Zaman’s cameo up top, flaying a lacklustre bowling attack.
Pakistan’s efforts with the ball were altogether more impressive, if sullied by bursts of untidiness that saw a whopping 29 extras conceded. But they reined Sri Lanka in from time to time, stifling their momentum and keeping the score within chasing range. Mohammad Imran’s 2-21 on debut was the pick of the bowling efforts, and while Lahiru Udara kept Sri Lanka afloat almost single-handedly with 91 off 55, the support he needed from the other end never quite came.
When Sri Lanka batted after winning the toss, it took Kamil Mishara nine deliveries to get off the mark. By the end of the fourth over, Sri Lanka were scoring at a run-a-ball, and had lost two wickets. Pakistan, by contrast, took just 2.2 overs to match that score; by the end of the sixth, they had powered through at dazzling speed thanks to Farhan and Zaman’s onslaught.
Sri Lanka took far too long to begin taking advantage of the powerplay. They struggled to find their timing, the powerplay littered with multiple plays and misses, and extravagant, low-percentage shots that bore no fruit. While they did launch a bit of a recovery in the final two overs, the slow start would end up proving costly as Sri Lanka left runs on the table.
Sri Lanka will want to move quickly on from this game, but to wipe it completely from the record would be a disservice to their opener. Confronted with a decent bowling attack on an off-day for his fellow batters, Udara almost batted through the Sri Lankan innings, playing just about every role a batter can in T20 innings.
He was the flashy starter, before shepherding his side through the early stages of the powerplay. He became an anchor for a bit before churning through the gears in the latter half of the powerplay. At times, he did so with strokes so classical they could be set to music, especially pleasing when he made some room and cleared extra cover off both pace and spin.
While support from Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka existed, it was fleeting. Soon enough, those wickets would fall, leaving Udara with the delicate dance of keeping the run rate up without letting the innings implode. That was especially true – and shown to be crucial at the death – because Sri Lanka were arguably playing a batter too light. When he finally holed out in the penultimate over, Sri Lanka ended up losing three wickets in five balls, the innings petering out on a surface where batting inadequacy was always going to be punished.
Sri Lanka (20 ovs maximum)
|
Batting
|
R
|
B
|
M
|
4s
|
6s
|
SR
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
c Hasan Nawaz b Naseem Shah
|
91
|
55
|
101
|
11
|
1
|
165.45
|
|||
|
c Mohammad Imran b Naseem Shah
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
50.00
|
|||
|
c Fakhar Zaman b Mohammad Imran
|
6
|
13
|
13
|
1
|
0
|
46.15
|
|||
|
c Fakhar Zaman b Saim Ayub
|
23
|
18
|
28
|
4
|
0
|
127.77
|
|||
|
c Shadab Khan b Mohammad Imran
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
50.00
|
|||
|
c Fakhar Zaman b Shadab Khan
|
18
|
15
|
25
|
0
|
2
|
120.00
|
|||
|
b Naseem Shah
|
5
|
8
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
62.50
|
|||
|
c & b Razaullah
|
1
|
2
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
50.00
|
|||
|
not out
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
200.00
|
|||
|
not out
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
33.33
|
|||
|
Extras
|
(b 7, lb 3, nb 1, w 18)
|
29
|
|||||||
|
Total
|
20 Ov (RR: 9.10)
|
182/8
|
|||||||
|
Did not bat
|
|||||||||
|
Fall of wickets
DRS
1-9 (Kusal Mendis, 0.5 ov), 2-18 (Kamil Mishara, 3.3 ov), 3-78 (Kamindu Mendis, 9.4 ov), 4-83 (Sahan Arachchige, 10.1 ov), 5-140 (Dasun Shanaka, 15.5 ov), 6-167 (Dunith Wellalage, 18.3 ov), 7-172 (Lahiru Udara, 18.6 ov), 8-172 (Maheesh Theekshana, 19.1 ov)
|
|||||||||
|
Bowling
|
O
|
M
|
R
|
W
|
ECON
|
0s
|
WD
|
NB
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4
|
0
|
36
|
3
|
9.00
|
10
|
4
|
0
|
|
|
4
|
0
|
21
|
2
|
5.25
|
13
|
1
|
0
|
|
|
3
|
0
|
29
|
1
|
9.66
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
4
|
0
|
36
|
0
|
9.00
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
3
|
0
|
33
|
1
|
11.00
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
2
|
0
|
17
|
1
|
8.50
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
Pakistan (T: 183 runs from 20 ovs)
|
Batting
|
R
|
B
|
M
|
4s
|
6s
|
SR
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
c Arachchige b Thushara
|
89
|
53
|
94
|
10
|
4
|
167.92
|
|||
|
c †BKG Mendis b Malinga
|
21
|
13
|
28
|
4
|
0
|
161.53
|
|||
|
lbw b Theekshana
|
50
|
29
|
43
|
4
|
3
|
172.41
|
|||
|
c †BKG Mendis b Chameera
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
50.00
|
|||
|
b Theekshana
|
8
|
5
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
160.00
|
|||
|
not out
|
12
|
7
|
18
|
0
|
1
|
171.42
|
|||
|
c Thushara b Malinga
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
|||
|
not out
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
|||
|
Extras
|
(b 1, lb 3, w 2)
|
6
|
|||||||
|
Total
|
18.5 Ov (RR: 9.92)
|
187/6
|
|||||||
|
Did not bat
|
|||||||||
|
Fall of wickets
DRS
1-54 (Fakhar Zaman, 5.1 ov), 2-146 (Maaz Sadaqat, 13.5 ov), 3-147 (Hasan Nawaz, 14.1 ov), 4-156 (Saim Ayub, 15.1 ov), 5-179 (Sahibzada Farhan, 17.5 ov), 6-180 (Shadab Khan, 18.2 ov)
|
|||||||||
|
Bowling
|
O
|
M
|
R
|
W
|
ECON
|
0s
|
WD
|
NB
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3
|
0
|
32
|
1
|
10.66
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
3
|
0
|
40
|
1
|
13.33
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
3.5
|
0
|
33
|
2
|
8.60
|
12
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
4
|
0
|
36
|
2
|
9.00
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
2
|
0
|
16
|
0
|
8.00
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
|
|
3
|
0
|
26
|
0
|
8.66
|
5
|
1
|
0
|
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