DAMBULLA: In a thrilling finale to the series, Sri Lanka won the last T20 match against Pakistan by 14 runs and thus the series ended in a draw of 1-1. This match was interrupted by rain and thus curtailed to 12 overs for each side.
Pakistan flipped the coin and opted to field first. Sri Lanka, in their turn, gave a target of 160/6 in their 12 overs. The captain, Dasun Shanaka, was the highest scorer with 34 runs, and Kushal Mendis also supported him with 30 runs. Jannath Liyange and Dhananjaya de Silva each contributed 22 runs.
Wasim Junior was the wicket-taker among Pakistan’s bowlers, getting 3 wickets. The other bowlers, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf and Naseem Shah, wound up with one wicket apiece.
Taking the target of 160 runs, the Pakistani team got only up to 146 runs for 8 wickets to finish the innings in 12 overs, thereby losing the match by 14 runs. Salman Agha was the top run-scorer for Pakistan with his 45 runs, while Mohammad Nawaz and Khwaja Nafi were the next two highest scorers with 28 and 26 runs, respectively.
Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka was the ace bowler taking 4 wickets and substantially contributing to his team’s success.
Sri Lanka won this match and thus the series stood at 1-1, having lost the first match to Pakistan. The second match was called off because of rain.
