Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20, 2017: Who Said What

The last time Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for a bilateral series was way back in 2009. The infamous terror attack on the Sri Lankan bus ensured that international cricket came to a halt in Pakistan as teams were reluctant to tour the nation due to security reasons. However, Zimbabwe visited the war-stricken country in 2015, which was a moment to rejoice for the Pakistani fans. Two years later, Sri Lanka visited the nation for a solitary T20 International game, much to the delight of Pakistan cricket.

However, the third and final T20I between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was a dead rubber, but there wasn’t any dearth of excitement among the fans, surrounding the game. While the Men in Green had the opportunity to clean-sweep the series, the Lankans looked to salvage some pride. To start with, Thissara Perera and Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first. The decision backfired somewhat as Pakistan racked up 180 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.

Fakhar Zaman and Umar Amin started cautiously with a stand of 57 runs in 8 overs. Babar Azam compiled a steady hand of 34 runs off 31 balls, but it was Shoaib Malik’s blistering knock of 51 runs in 24 balls that injected impetus into the Pakistan innings. A couple of lusty blows by Faheem Ashraf ensured that Pakistan breach the 180 mark.

A scratchy run-chase

During their run-chase Sri Lanka never got off the blocks as wickets went down at regular intervals. Dasun Shanaka ignited hopes for the Lankans with an innings of 54 off 34 balls. He smashed 5 boundaries and 3 sixes in his knock. Nevertheless, post his dismissal in the 14th over, Sri Lanka completely lost the plot. In the next 40 balls, they could only manage 48 runs and lost 4 wickets in the process. They eventually managed 114 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

For Pakistan, Mohammed Amir ripped the heart out of the Sri Lankan batting with a spell of 4-0-13-4. Faheem Ashraf backed up his stupendous performance in the previous game with another marvellous spell of bowling, which read 4-0-19-2. Here’s what the players had to say after the end of the series.

Thisara Perera said:

It is a tough tour. Thanks to the Pakistani fans. In a short time, we have gelled like a nice family. Last three games, we can take a lot of positives. Last game, we almost won. Looking forward to doing well in the future series. As I said earlier, this is one of the best bowling attacks I have seen in the last one and a half years.

Sarfraz Ahmed said:

It is always great to be playing at home. I would want to thank the crowds for coming here and support us. The way we have played in crunch and crucial times has helped us to increase our fan base. We have tried to give confidence to any newcomer. You look at Umar Amin, he played after almost 2 years and did well. Fahim Ashraf got a couple of crucial sixes as well.

Shoaib Malik, Man of the Match and Man of the Series said:

Playing in front of home crowd and winning the Man of the Match award is a dream come true. I want to thank the Sri Lankan team for coming here. We have been missing this. I train everyday. I don’t miss my training sessions. Consistency is something that you always look forward to. You have to take a couple of balls no matter which wicket you are playing on. I wanted to take a couple of balls and take singles. You have to take singles no matter what format you are playing.