Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka lose despite Upul Tharanga's stupendous ton

A target of 220 wasn’t going to be a tough task but Sri Lanka messed up their run chase.

By Sameer Allana

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5 Min Read

Pakistan
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Pakistan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

The crowd at Abu Dhabi witnessed a spectacular game in what marked the commencement of the limited overs series. Pakistan went on to register a spectacular victory as they now lead the series 1-0. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, failed to capitalize with the bat.

Earlier in the day, it was skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed who won the toss as Pakistan elected to bat first. Sri Lanka included Lahiru Gamage and Jeffrey Vandersay in their squad. Pakistan, on the other hand, were playing their first ODI game since the Champions Trophy triumph.

Batting first, Pakistan were off to a poor start as both the openers were back to the pavilion with just 27 runs on the board. Mohammed Hafeez who came in at No.4 was dismissed cheaply too as Pakistan were left reeling at 40/3 at the end of the first power play. The collapse continued as the likes of Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz and Imad Wasim took turns to bat as the scoreboard read 101/6.

That’s when Shadab Khan who came in at No.8 batted really well and gave support to Babar Azam who was playing a lone hand in the Pakistan innings so far. Together both stitched a 109 run partnership for the seventh wicket. While Babar Azam went on to score an astounding century, Shadab Khan displayed his valour with the bat as he scored a fantastic 52*.

Pakistan went on to post a total of 219/9 in their quota of 50 overs. Gamage was the pick amongst the Sri Lankan bowlers as he took four wickets. Thisara Perera was also clinical with figures of 2/34. Suranga Lakmal and Vandersay also managed to get a wicket each.

A target of 220 wasn’t going to be a tough task but Sri Lanka messed up their run chase. Opener Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis were out early into the Lankan innings. Skipper Upul Tharanga managed to slow down the pace and make sure his team recovered from the early slump.

However, Shadab Khan created a havoc later into the innings alongside the other spinners. The Sri Lankan middle order collapsed like a pack of cards as they went from 70/2 to 93/7. Upul Tharanga batted like a lone warrior as he went on to score a splendid hundred. However, he had no one to provide him support from the other end as Sri Lanka ended up 32 runs short of the target.

Here are some of the amazing Twitter reactions during the first One Day International:

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