Sri Lanka won a close match against Pakistan by six runs in the sixth game of the Tri-nation T20I series in Rawalpindi on Thursday night. They defended their total of 184 runs.
The win helped Sri Lanka reach the final on 29 November. They finished ahead of Zimbabwe after two straight wins. Sri Lanka will face Pakistan again in the final. Both teams have beaten each other once in the series.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha played a strong innings. He made 63 runs off 44 balls and stayed not out. He hit four fours and three sixes. He came in when Pakistan were 29 for two in the fourth over.
Salman built two key partnerships. He added 56 runs with Usman Khan. He added 70 runs with Mohammad Nawaz. Pakistan reached 43 for four in 5.2 overs, but these stands brought them back into the match. The team still fell short in the end.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera stopped Pakistan. He defended 10 runs in the last over. He took four wickets for 20 runs. He was the player of the match.
Sri Lanka started well after Pakistan chose to field. Opener Kamil Mishara played a bright knock of 76 off 48 balls. He hit six fours and three sixes. Mishara and Kusal Mendis added 66 runs for the second wicket in 36 balls. Salman Mirza had earlier bowled Pathum Nissanka for eight in the third over.
Mendis scored 40 runs off 23 balls. He hit six fours and one six before Abrar Ahmed trapped him leg-before in the ninth over. Saim Ayub then removed Kusal Perera in the 11th over. Mishara kept the innings steady. He added 57 runs with Janith Liyanage, who stayed unbeaten on 24.
Sri Lanka scored 24 runs in the last two overs. Captain Dasun Shanaka hit a six off Salman Mirza in the second last over. He hit two fours off Mohammad Wasim Junior in the final over. He scored 17 runs off 10 balls.
For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed took two wickets. Saim Ayub and Salman Mirza took one each.
Chameera dismissed Faheem Ashraf on the fifth ball of the last over. Pakistan needed seven runs from two balls at that point. A leg-before call against Faheem was overturned one ball earlier.
Pakistan needed 22 runs off the last two overs. Nawaz hit a six on the first ball but fell to Eshan Malinga soon after. Faheem then hit a boundary to keep the chase alive.
Earlier, Nawaz joined Salman after Usman Khan fell for 33. Usman was caught off Wanindu Hasaranga in the 13th over. Pakistan had lost four wickets in eight balls in the Powerplay. The Salman–Nawaz stand of 70 runs came off only 36 balls. They attacked strongly from the 14th to the 18th over and scored 50 runs.
At the start of the chase, Saim Ayub scored 27 runs off 18 balls. He hit four fours and one six. Malinga removed him. Malinga finished with two wickets for 54 runs. Maheesh Theekshana and Shanaka did not take any wickets.
Scores in brief
Sri Lanka 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Kamil Mishara 76, Kusal Mendis 40, Janith Liyanage 24 not out; Abrar Ahmed 2 for 28)
Pakistan 178 for 7 in 20 overs
(Salman Ali Agha 63 not out, Usman Khan 33, Mohammad Nawaz 27, Saim Ayub 27; Dushmantha Chameera 4 for 20, Eshan Malinga 2 for 54)
