Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in 2nd T20:
Sri Lanka: 182/6
Pakistan: 147 all out (19/20 overs, target 183)
Sri Lanka won the match by 35 runs.
The top-ranked T20I team, Pakistan lost once again to Sri Lanka in the 2nd T20I of the series. Sri Lanka set up a target of 182 runs off 6 wickets in their innings while batting first. Pakistan lost all their wickets on 147 runs in 19 overs while chasing the target of 183 runs. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by a total of 35 runs.
Sri Lanka’s innings against Pakistan:
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan. Sri Lanka sent Danushka Gunathilaka and Avishka Fernando first to open the innings. Danushka Gunathilaka lost his wicket to Imad Wasim in the 3rd over of the match after scoring 15 runs, while Avishka Fernando got run out on 8 runs.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa played a brilliant knock of 77 runs off 48 balls for 4 fours and 6 huge sixes. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s innings played a vital role in setting up the target a defendable target for his team. Shehan Jayasuriya scored 34 runs off 28 balls, while Sri Lanka’s captain Dasun Shanaka remained not out after contributing 27 runs off 15 balls.
Sri Lanka set up the target of 182 runs at the cost of 6 wickets after 20 overs of the match. Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, and Wahab Riaz took 1 wicket each for Pakistan, as Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets to run-outs alone.
Pakistan’s innings against Sri Lanka:
Pakistan’s team required 183 runs off 120 balls to win the match against Sri Lanka. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman came to bat first for Pakistan. Pakistan lost its openers early as Fakhar Zaman lost his wicket on just 6 runs while Babar Azam could only score 3 runs off 10 balls.
Ahmed Shehzad who had been given a chance to return to the National squad only scored 13 runs off 16 balls. Pakistan’s captain and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed once again failed to score a decent amount of runs as he lost his wicket on 26 runs off 16 balls. Umar Akmal who holds the record of most ducks by a Pakistani cricketer added one more to its record as he scored a duck in this game as well before being lbw by Wanindu Hasaranga. Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed Ahmed Shahzad, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Umar Akmal on 4 consecutive balls.
Asif Ali and Imad Wasim tried to give the hosts some hope of coming back into the game with their 75 run partnership. Asif Ali scored 29 runs off 27 balls, while Imad Wasim played a much-required sensible innings of 47 runs off 29 balls for 8 fours. But it was all in vain as no one was there to take it further and the damage had already been done as the team was 52/5 after Sarfaraz lost his wicket, but Imad and Asif’s efforts brought their team to 136/7.
Wahab Riaz scored 7 runs while Shadab Khan got dismissed on a duck. Pakistan’s team lost all their wickets on 147 runs in 19 overs, losing the match by 35 runs. Nuwan Pradeep took 4 wickets for Sri Lanka after conceding 38 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga claimed his 3 wickets for 38 runs. Isuru Udana took 2 while Kasun Rajitha took 1 wicket for 11 runs in his 3 overs.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was awarded “Player of the Match” for his fascinating innings of 77 runs off 48 balls. His innings helped Sri Lanka set up a decent total against the hosts.
Sri Lanka has now won the 3-match T20I series against Pakistan with 2 wins and one match still to go. The 3rd T20I of the series will be played on the 9th of October in Lahore.
