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29 March 2024

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st T20: Pakistan win by 29 runs

Sri Lanka's T20 cricket captain Lasith Malinga gestures during a practice session at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on July 29, 2015. Sri Lanka and Pakistan first Twenty20 International match will be played from July 30 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium. (AFP)

Published
By Cricket Correspondent and Agencies

Sohail Tanvir bagged three wickets as Pakistan won convincingly by 29 runs against Sri Lanka in the first T20 international at the R Premadasa Stadium on Thursday night.

Earlier after winning the toss Pakistan posted 175 for 5 with Shoaib Malik (46 not out), Ahmed Shehzad (46) and Umar Akmal making useful contributions.

This was Sri Lanka's seventh loss from eight T20 matches at this venue.

Perera is beaten by the bounce and top edges to Rizwan.

Thisara Perera c Mohammad Rizwan b Anwar Ali 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)

Siriwardana was Lanka's only hope and he is gone.

Milinda Siriwardana c Anwar Ali b Sohail Tanvir 35 (18b 3x4 2x6)

Irfan is hammered by Kapugedera too as the pressure is on Pakistan now. 

Siriwardana spanks Irfan for two fours. Lanka are back in the match.

Kapugedara steps down the track and lifts Malik for a six.

Dhanajaya de Silva c Ahmed Shehzad b Shoaib Malik 31 (32b 1x4 0x6)

Siriwardana goes after Afridi hoisting him over mid on.

Siriwardana brings some respite to the Sri Lankans with a huge six off Imad followed by a four.

Mathews going for the big slog and misses it.

Angelo Mathews b Imad Wasim 23 (26b 1x4 0x6)

Dhananjaya welcomes Afridi with a sweetly-timed four.

Vithanage slashes hard but gets an inside egde and the ball hits the stumps.

Kithuruwan Vithanage b Sohail Tanvir 1 (4b 0x4 0x6)

Tanvir gets gets his revenge with the prized wicket of Dilshan.

Tillakaratne Dilshan c Mohammad Rizwan b Sohail Tanvir 6 (5b 1x4 0x6)

SIX! Dilshan does a Dilscoop and the ball soars for a six.

Kusal top-edges Anwar and Afridi takes a simple catch.

Kusal Perera c Shahid Afridi b Anwar Ali 4 (3b 0x4 0x6) 

Pakistan innings

Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik posted an identical score of 46 each as Pakistan finished at 175 for 5 in their first T20 against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

Shehzad gave the visitors a solid start and Malik (46 not out) and Akmal increased the tempo in the middle to give their team fighting total to defend.

For the hosts ony Thisara Perera managed two wickets.

Shahid Afridi b Fernando 8 (4b 0x4 1x6)

Umar Akmal lbw b Malinga 46 (24b 3x4 3x6)

Classic shot by Akmal and Malinga is left seeing his delivery go over his head for a six.

Pakistan's third 50 comes in 22 balls.

FOURS! Akmal shows some silken touch as he glides Malinga through the off side for two boundaries.

SIXES! Umar Akmal pulls Fernando over mid-wicket for the first six of the innings and again over long on for another maximum.

Malik and Umar Akmal are throwing their bats at everything and its raining fours.

Malinga seems to have lost that cutting edge as he is hit all over and is also wayward. Malik brings up Pakistan's 100, while Umar spanks the Lankan captain over his head.

FOUR! Malik flicks Malinga through fine leg for a four.

Perera strikes again to get rid of the dangerous-looking Shehzad who tried to scoop the bowler over short-fine leg but fails.

Ahmed Shehzad c Malinga b Perera 46 (38b 4x4 0x6)

Perera brings SL back in the match with some dot balls. In fact almost had Shehzad out after Mathews took what looked like a brilliant catch at long off. However the ball grazed the turf and the third umpire ruled not out.

Malik on the ball with a cracking shot between point and cover of Mathews.

Hafeez tries to pull Perera but finds Vithanage in the deep.

Mohammad Hafeez c Vithanage b Perera 17 (14b 2x4 0x6)

Thisara Perera begins with a slower ball and Hafeez chips it over point but some brilliant fielding rectricts them to three runs. However Pakistan have reached their 50.

Leg-break bowler Jeffrey Vandersay is introduced.

Hafeez plays a superb ramp shot as runs are coming in torrents for Pakistan.

FOURS! Shehzad gives himself room and punches Malinga through covers for a four and then gets an inside edge which beats square leg for another boundary.

Runs begin to flow from the bats of Hafeez and Shehzad.

FOUR! Hafeez now cuts loose by lofting Mathews over cover.

FOUR! Shehzad smacks Mathews straight down the ground for the first four of the innings.

Angelo Mathews strikes in his first over with the sixth ball as he gets Mukhtar to edge to Vandersay at short third-man.

Mukhtar Ahmed c Vandersay b Mathews 2 (8b 0x4 0x6)

Binura Fernando bowling for the first time in international cricket is a bit nervous and wayward with two wide balls in his first over.

Shahid Afridi calls heads, and gets it spot on with the Pakistan T20 skipper having no hesitation in saying his team will bat first and with the pitch looking good and hard they should post a total in the range of 170 and 175.

A cool breeze blows across the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. There is cause for the hosts Sri Lanka who have won only one match in seven outings at this venue.

Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando and Chamara Kapugedera will be making their debut for the hosts while Sarfraz Ahmed is missing from the Pakistan line-up.

STARTING XI

Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Milinda Siriwardana, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Binura Fernando.

Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Mukhtar Mukhtar, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Nauman Anwar, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Irfan.

Preview

Sri Lanka will look to prevent a clean sweep by Pakistan on the current tour when they clash in two Twenty20 internationals in Colombo on Thursday and Saturday.

Pakistan won the preceding Test series 2-1 and also clinched the one-dayers 3-2 to earn a double triumph in the island nation for the first time since 2006.

But Sri Lanka, the reigning World Twenty20 champions and the top-ranked side in the shortest format, get a chance to salvage pride in the two end-of-tour games at the Premadasa stadium.

Both sides wear a fresh look under new captains, with sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga leading Sri Lanka and veteran Shahid Afridi taking over at the helm for fifth-ranked Pakistan.

While Malinga has retired from Test cricket and played in four of the five one-dayers, Afridi has quit the other two formats and will make his first appearance on the tour.

With the next World Twenty20 in India just eight months away, both sides have blooded new players to give them experience in the nuances of T20 cricket.

Sri Lanka's 15-man squad includes five uncapped players in batsmen Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva, fast bowler Binura Fernando and leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay.

Test and one-day regulars Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have been omitted, but seasoned seamer Nuwan Kulasekara has been recalled after being ignored for the one-day series.

"We need to get the younger brigade in the stream so that we have a gradual transition leading up to the next World T20 and the 50-over World Cup beyond that," Sri Lanka's chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene was quoted as saying in local media.

"We need to put them on the ground and see how they perform."

Afridi is one of five players set to contest the T20 series who did not feature for Pakistan in either the Test or one-day matches.

Left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, sidelined with a fractured hand since the second Test, will be replaced by another left-arm quick Zia-ul-Haq.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who picked up 24 wickets in the three Tests, returns to the Twenty20 fold after four years, while 33-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Irfan has also been picked.

Sri Lanka (from): Lasith Malinga (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kithruwan Vithanage, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Kulasekara, Binura Fernando, Chaturanga de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana.

Pakistan (from): Shahid Afridi (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Nauman Anwar, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Zia-ul-Haq.