By Staff Reporter
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s spinners orchestrated a stunning Sri Lankan collapse as the hosts claimed a six-wicket victory in the T20 tri-series final on Saturday, chasing down 115 with eight balls to spare.
Electing to field after winning the toss, Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 114 in 19.1 overs, with Mohammad Nawaz taking 3-17 to cap his series as leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps. Sri Lanka had raced to 81-1 at the halfway mark, thanks to opener Kamil Mishara’s 59 off 47 balls and a 64-run stand with Kusal Mendis (14). But the innings unravelled dramatically, losing the last eight wickets for 16 runs, as spinners Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed (2-18) and Saim Ayub (1-17) dominated before paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-18) cleaned up the tail.
The slide started in the 11th over when Babar Azam took a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch at long-off to dismiss Mendis off Nawaz. Mishara, who reached his fifty in 37 balls, fell to another diving effort from Babar, and Ahmed struck twice in one over, including Pavan Rathnayake (8), with Babar completing a third catch. Kusal Perera managed just one off six balls before skying to the keeper, while Nawaz removed Janith Liyanage and Wanindu Hasaranga cheaply.
In reply, Pakistan openers Ayub (36 off 33) and Sahibzada Farhan (23) put on 46, with Ayub striking three boundaries off Maheesh Theekshana in the powerplay and Farhan hitting Hasaranga for a six and four. Eshan Malinga (1-16) bowled Farhan with a seamer, and Hasaranga (1-31) trapped Ayub lbw. Rathnayake (2-11) dismissed skipper Salman Agha and Fakhar Zaman in quick succession, but Babar (37 not out off 34) steered the chase with an exquisite cut off Dushmantha Chameera for the winning boundary.
Nawaz was named player of the match and series. “To deliver when the team requires you is very important,” he said at the presentation. “I plan with the coaches and try to keep it simple because as a fingerspinner, you don’t have many options. So I try to read the game and bowl accordingly.” On his batting, he added: “I try to see what the situations demands: to build a partnership or attack. So I try to play accordingly.”
Pakistan captain Salman Agha hailed the win as ideal preparation for the World Cup. “It was a great performance from us. This has been very good two months for us, against South Africa and Sri Lanka. We have been doing well in both ODIs and T20Is,” he said. “Before going to the World Cup, you want your 15 ready. If anything happens to your main players, you want to have the back-up ready. So we are giving chances to everyone. I think we are pretty much ready for the World Cup. We still have six games before the World Cup to try out things if we want but think we are pretty much clear on our 15 players.”
Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka called for improvements. “We expected the wicket to play better than this but they also bowled well in the middle overs. We couldn’t have taken some chances: right-handers getting out to the left-arm spinner and left-hander to offspinner,” he said. “We need to fine-tune our game ahead of the next series. Mishara, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Chameera, Maheesh, Hasaranga were the positives. And we showed good intent in the field.”
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