Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed And Sahibzada Farhan Hand Pakistan Comfortable Win In Dambulla

Pakistan showcased their strong prospects for the upcoming T20 World Cup with a decisive six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the three-game series in Dambulla on Wednesday. The series, seen as a warm-up for the World Cup which Sri Lanka will co-host with India, is particularly crucial for Pakistan, who will play all their tournament matches on the island due to political tensions with their neighbours.

Pakistan excelled in all departments, first restricting Sri Lanka to a modest total of 128 and then comfortably chasing down the target with 20 balls to spare. The match swung in Pakistan’s favour early on, with Shadab Khan dismantling the Sri Lankan innings by taking two wickets in his first over.

Returning after shoulder

surgery and playing his first match for Pakistan since June last year, the leg-spinner delivered a significant spell.

“When you are coming back from injury it is tough. You have to start from zero but the surface was helping me. We have our eyes on the World Cup. With all our games being played here in Sri Lanka, this is a very good series for us,” Shadab, who was named player-of-the-match, remarked.

Abrar Ahmed supported Shadab effectively, finishing with figures of 3-25, while left-arm fast bowler Salman Mirza bowled with intensity, cleaning up the tail with figures of 3-18, as Sri Lanka were bowled out with four balls remaining.

In the run chase, openers Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan gave Pakistan a flying start, reaching 50 in just 25 balls. Nuwan Thushara faced the brunt of the attack, conceding 31 runs in his first two overs as Pakistan took early control.

Farhan anchored the chase with a fluent 51 off 36 balls, including four fours and two sixes, registering his eighth T20I half-century, as Pakistan completed the chase comfortably.

For Sri Lanka, the loss adds to a turbulent build-up to the series which saw captain Charith Asalanka dropped, chairman of selectors Upul Tharanga dismissed, and the coaching staff reshuffled. The hosts must quickly regroup ahead of the second match on Friday at the same venue.

“We didn’t get a good start and lost too many wickets. That is an issue we need to address. We recovered well and should have got over 150, but we lost quick wickets,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said.

With AFP Inputs