Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1st T20I review: Clinical Pakistan go 1-0 up

View : 111

2 Min Read

Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1st T20I
info
Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1st T20I review: Clinical Pakistan go 1-0 up. (Photo Source: AFP)

Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1st T20I review: Clinical Pakistan go 1-0 up: Pakistan romped home to a 29-run win in the first T20I of the two match series at Colombo. Having notched up an impressive 175 in their 20 overs, Pakistan seized the initiative when they picked up three early wickets in the chase.

Mathews and Dhananjaya tried steadying the innings but once the duo were dismissed the chase appeared doomed. Siriwardana (35 off 18) and Kapugedara (31* off 16) attempted an unlikely rescue but they were always paying catch up with the scoreboard pressure. For Pakistan, while Shehzad, Malik and Umar Akmal scored 46 each, it was their T20 specialist and Man of the Match Sohail Tanvir who starred with the ball (3 for 29). Pakistan have already won the Test and ODI series. And now, they cannot lose the T20I series either.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat on the Khettarama track that was expected to be full of runs. Sri Lanka’s XI featured four debutants, including three uncapped players. Batsman and part-time off spinner Dhananjaya de Silva, leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay and 20-year-old left-arm seamer Binura Fernando, who have created some buzz on the island in recent months, got a go. Milinda Siriwardana was also handed a T20I international debut. Pakistan replaced Yasir Shah’s leg spin, with Shahid Afridi in the side. Sarfraz Ahmed was also left out, and Umar Akmal was picked. Opener Mukhtar Ahmed was drafted in for his first match on the tour.

Binura Fernando, left-arm medium pacer, in the Irfan Pathan mould started off the proceedings for Sri Lanka. Like the Indian, Binura got the ball to come back into the right hander and extracted substantial seam movement. Angelo Mathews, in the next over, gave Sri Lanka the early breakthrough when he had Mukhtar caught at short third-man. Pakistan finally got going in the fourth over of the game when Angelo Mathews was taken for a couple of boundaries. The young leg spinner Vandersay looked nervous in his first over as he repeatedly dragged the ball short and was pulled away by Hafeez and Shehzad.

Thisara Perera, introduced in the next over, ended the dangerous stand when Mohammad Hafeez hit a short, slower delivery straight down the throat of the deep mid-wicket, to the waiting fielder. Perera, with his bag of cutters and slower deliveries prized out Ahmed Shehzad four short of a well-deserved half-century when the Pakistan opener attempted to play the lap shot to a delivery bowled full and wide outside the off-stump. Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal continued to milk the bowling with ease.

UmarAkmal raced away to 37 off 18 as LasithMalinga continued to struggle with his lines. The Sri Lankan captain conceded 11 in his 3rd over to take his figures to 3-0-35-0. Shoaib Malik meanwhile continued to bat in a zone reserved only for those in the best of form. The stand between UmarAkmal and Shoaib Malik proved to be decisive as Pakistan reached a competitive 175 in their 20 overs.

Sri Lanka’s chase of 175 was rocked early when they lost both their in-form openers in the first 2 overs. Sohail Tanvir accounted for Dilshan in the second over when the veteran batsman edged an angled delivery to the keeper. Tanvir claimed his second wicket of the evening when Kithruwan Vithanage dragged a wide, full delivery on the off-stump onto this stump to leave Sri Lanka in disarray at 19 for 3. Young Dhananjaya de Silva and Angelo Mathews set about rebuilding the Sri Lankan innings after the loss of those early wickets.

Angelo Mathews added 36 runs off 41 balls with young D De Silva before he was cleaned up a straighter delivery by Imad Wasim for a sedate 23. Even with the required climbing well above the 12 runs per over, young left-handed batsman Milinda Siriwardana was not ready to throw in the towel. He struck a six and a four of Imad Wasim in a 14-run over before smoking Afridi for another big six over mid-wicket.

Milinda Siriwardana made a quick fire 16-ball 34 and along with Kapugedara (11 off 4) reduced the equation to 62 off 30. Sohail Tanvir picked up his third wicket of the innings when he had Siriwardana hit a full-length delivery to the long-on fielder Anwar Ali who held on to a safe catch.

There were to be no heroics from Thisara Perera this time as the Sri Lankan all-rounder fell to a sharp bouncer from Anwar for a four-ball two effectively ending Sri Lanka’s hopes of a pulling off a surprise win. Pakistan have been ruthlessly effective on this tour. And this was another fabulous performance from them.

Brief Scores of Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1st T20I:

Pakistan – 175/5 20 overs (Shoaib Malik 46*(31),  Umar Akmal 46 (24); Thisara Perera 2-30) win by 29 runs.

Sri Lanka – 146/7 20 overs (Srivardana 35(18), Kapugedera 31 (16); Tanvir 3-29)

MOM – Sohail Tanvir

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store