Pakistan win the second T20I as well
Sri Lanka CricketNews article
Powered by Maaz Sadaqat's rapid 96 and captain Sahibzada Farhan's 73, Pakistan posted a huge total and recorded a comfortable 82-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second Twenty20 International played in Rawalpindi. With that, Pakistan took a 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series between the two countries with one game still to be played.
In the match played on October 11, Pakistan batted first and piled up 215 for 3, while Sri Lanka, in reply, could manage only 133 for 7 at the end of their allotted 20 overs.
After winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan's opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave the innings a solid start by adding 55 runs for the first wicket. Fakhar Zaman fell for 22 off 17 balls with 4 fours, but Farhan carried on with his aggressive batting.
Farhan faced 44 balls and compiled 73 runs with 4 fours and 5 sixes. His innings contributed greatly to lifting Pakistan's scoring rate.
But the biggest headache for the Sri Lankan bowlers was Maaz Sadaqat's assault. He made an unbeaten 96 off 51 balls with 6 fours and 7 sixes, ending the innings with a century in sight. He and Farhan put together an 88-run stand for the second wicket, and Pakistan lost their third wicket when Sadaqat was dismissed in the final over. Hasan Nawaz added further impetus to the back end of the innings with an unbeaten 19 off 9 balls.
For Sri Lanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Eshan Malinga and Dasun Shanaka each claimed a wicket. However, in the face of the Pakistani batters' onslaught, the Sri Lankan bowlers were unable to contain a scoring rate of 10.75 runs per over.
Chasing a massive target of 216, Sri Lanka were unable to keep up with the required run rate right from the start. Opener Lahiru Udara fell for 5, while Sineth Jayawardena made 22 and captain Kusal Mendis 9 before being dismissed.
Mohammad Imran, who dragged the Sri Lankan innings into even deeper trouble, produced an outstanding bowling effort to take 3 wickets for 11 runs. Salman Mirza also took 2 wickets, piling pressure on the Sri Lankan batting line-up.
Kamindu Mendis made 23, and the attacking contribution to the Sri Lankan innings came from Chamindu Wickramasinghe. He compiled 29 runs off 24 balls with a four and a six. Maheesh Theekshana tried to lift the scoreboard in the latter stages with an unbeaten 32, but it was not enough to change the result of the match.
Mohammad Imran's 3 wickets for 11 runs was the key bowling spell that controlled the Sri Lankan innings in the match, while Salman Mirza took 2 wickets for 28 runs. Accordingly, Sri Lanka were restricted to 133 for 7 at the end of 20 overs, and Pakistan secured an 82-run win.
Pakistan – 215 for 3 (20 overs) – Maaz Sadaqat 96 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 73, Fakhar Zaman 22, Hasan Nawaz 19 not out, Maheesh Theekshana 55/1, Eshan Malinga 41/1, Dasun Shanaka 30/1.
Sri Lanka – 133 for 7 (20 overs) – Maheesh Theekshana 32 not out, Chamindu Wickramasinghe 29, Kamindu Mendis 23, Sineth Jayawardena 22, Mohammad Imran 11/3, Salman Mirza 28/2, Saim Ayub 19/1, Shadab Khan 19/1.
Based on Sri Lanka Cricket reporting