Maaz Sadaqat’s 51-ball 96 and Muhammad Imran’s three for 11 in four overs led Pakistan to a thumping 82-run win over visitors Sri Lanka as the Sahibzada Farhan-led hosts took unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday night in front of a record crowd of 17,535.
The third T20I match of the series will be played at the same venue on Tuesday, 13 October. Pakistan bagged a four-wicket win in the opening T20I on Friday.
After Pakistan posted their second-highest T20I total of 215-3 in 20 overs on the back of half-centuries from Maaz and Sahibzada, Sri Lanka were restricted to 133-7 in 20 overs with pacer Muhammad Imran, playing his second T20I, registering frugal figures of 4-0-11-3.
Imran was backed by Mohammad Salman Mirza, who picked up 2-28 in three overs, and spin duo of Shadab Khan and Saim Ayub – who both accounted for a wicket each.
The incoming left-arm pacer Salman Mirza, who replaced Razaullah in the lineup, provided Pakistan the first breakthrough in opening over by removing Lahiru Udara – Sri Lanka’s top-scorer with 91 in first T20I – for five. It was given not out by the on-field umpire but reversed after Pakistan reviewed the decision.
Sri Lanka slipped from 35-1 to 5.5 overs to 74-6, losing five for 39 in 36 balls as Pakistan bowlers ran riot. In the top order, Sineth Jayawardena (22, 21b, 4x4s) and Kamindu Mendis (23, 19b, 2x4s, 1×6) got starts but couldn’t convert them. Imran got two wickets in as many balls in the eighth over but couldn’t clinch a hat-trick as he bowled his four overs on the trot.
Chamindu Wickramsinghe (29, 24b, 1×4, 1×6) and Maheesh Theekshana (32 not out, 26b, 4x4s) – the no. 7 and 8 batters – stretched Sri Lanka’s score to 133-7 in 20 overs with the help of 50-run seventh-wicket stand.
Earlier, Pakistan were asked to bat first and they responded by setting up the platform for their highest T20I total at home with a 55-run opening stand. Top-scorer Maaz Sadaqat walked out to bat when Fakhar Zaman (22, 17b, 4x4s) fell to Maheesh Theekshana in the seventh over.
Maaz and Sahibzada’s blazing alliance for the second wicket yielded 88 runs off 49 balls as the duo kept on taking digs at Sri Lanka bowlers. Sahibzada, playing his 50th T20I, began the assault by hitting Theekshana for two consecutive sixes in in ninth over and brought up his 12th half-century an over later.
Pakistan ransacked 125 runs off the last 10 overs despite Sri Lanka giving just one run in the 14th over and eking out the wicket of Sahibzada in the following over. Sahibzada fell for 73 off 44 balls hitting four boundaries and five sixes. He had smashed Shanaka for a six and a four on consecutive deliveries before departing.
Maaz welcomed Theekshana in the 16th over by hitting three sixes off the first four balls as Pakistan took 22 off the over – the best of their innings. Maaz added 72 off 31 balls in Hasan Nawaz’s (19 not out, 9b, 1×4, 1×6) company as Pakistan charged towards the total beyond 200-run mark.
Pakistan took 37 runs off the last three overs with Maaz hitting three fours in the penultimate over to enter the 90s. He was 92 off 46 at the start of the last over and was denied his maiden T20I century by Eshan Malinga, who removed him off the last ball for 96 off 51 and giving away only five runs.
Scores in brief
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 82 runs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Pakistan 215-3, 20 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 96, Sahibzada Farhan 73, Fakhar Zaman 22, Hasan Nawaz 19 not out; Dasun Shanaka 1-30)
Sri Lanka 133-7, 20 overs (Maheesh Theekshana 32 not out, Chamindu Wickramsinghe 29, Kamindu Mendis 23, Sineth Jayawardena 22; Muhammad Imran 3-11, Mohammad Salman Mirza 2-28)
Player of the match – Maaz Sadaqat (Pakistan)
