Pakistan managed to eke out a tense win against Sri Lanka in the first T20 in the two match series.
It was Shahid Afridi that paved the way for a Pakistani victory, as he played a very mature knock of 39 from 20 deliveries at the death, propelling Pakistan over their target of 146 runs with 3 wickets and 5 deliveries to spare.
The total that Sri Lanka set was only marginally short of what captain Dinesh Chandimal wanted after Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lanka were unable to get off to a blistering start however, and went at a run rate of about 6 an over for most of their innings. The two seniors Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara were unable to contribute significantly, and while Chandimal made use of the absence of Mahela Jayawardene to elevate himself to the number 3 position, he was only able to score 22.
It was left to Angelo Mathews to provide Sri Lanka with impetus at the end, and he did so, hitting a quick fire 50 off 34 balls to lift Sri Lanka to 145/6 at the end of their innings. He rode his luck a bit as he survived a very close LBW call and was then dropped in the next over, but was able to power the Pakistan pace bowlers to give Sri Lanka their late surge. The younger Lankan batsmen were pegged back by Pakistan’s spin bowlers, and were unable to get them away for much.
The dew factor had been one of the reasons behind Mohammad Hafeez’s decision to bat second, and the Sri Lankan bowlers were visibly affected by it. The spinners were not as penetrative as usual, and several times bowled some shocking deliveries. It was their fielding that kept the Lankans in the game until the end. Lahiru Thirimanne pulled off a stunning catch at cover to provide Sri Lanka with their first breakthrough. Hafeez and Sharjeel Khan built a solid foundation for Pakistan before Afridi came in to finish things off. The Lankans kept chipping away at the wickets, and Lasith Malinga claimed his best T20 figures in over an year, but Pakistan never let the required run rate get seriously out of hand, and 13 runs off the 18th over bowled by Thisara Perera all but ensured victory for the men in green.
Sri Lanka now must win the second game in order to square the series and protect their number one ranking.
Pakistan 146 for 7 (Afridi 39*, Malinga 3-26) beat Sri Lanka (Mathews 50) by three wickets
