During the f8rst T20I  against Sri Lanka on Friday, Pakistan demonstrated that 2026 is not quite like 2019. Back then, they had stumbled in pursuit of three Sri Lankan totals  in succession – two of them lower than the 182 they gunned down with relative ease two days back, while the third was exactly 182. With that series perhaps fresher in Sri Lanka’s mind than it needed to be, Kusal Mendis’ side opted, against conventional wisdom, to bat first after winning the toss in Rawalpindi this time, hoping to recreate the magic formula from seven years earlier.

There were a few things we learned from the first game, though. The Rawalpindi surface isn’t quite as partial to fingerspin as T20 pitches in the subcontinent have been, which induced the hosts into playing three frontline seamers. Pakistan, who were playing with at least five potential opening batters, appear to have rejigged their batting order by pushing the timeless Fakhar Zaman up top and sending Saim Ayub at No. 5.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, may have learned that while 32-year old Lahiru Udara hasn’t played much international cricket, his talent in this format is unmistakable, as is his temperament under pressure. Udara was the lone fighting hand for his side across much of the innings, though that shines more of a light on Sri Lanka’s batting order as a whole. With Dunith Wellalage, whose power-hitting abilities are limited, batting at No. 7, the visitors might want to beef up their batting order.

But there’s only so much that can be read into a lone T20I at the start of a long tour for Sri Lanka. Pakistan have an opportunity to wrap the series up by winning the second game, also in Rawalpindi, on Sunday, and will be favourites to do so after a dominant performance in the first. The worry for Sri Lanka is that their own indifferent showing comes on the back of three crushing defeats in England. On Sunday, they will try to show this is more of a temporary rut than a fair representation of their current T20I state.

by Reemus Fernando

A combined bowling effort and top order batting anchord by Ranmith Senarath powered Nalanda to a vital six wickets win over St. Joseph’s in the Under-19 Division I Tier A Limited Overs Tournament match at Campbell Place on Friday.

‎Ranmith struck an unbeaten 51 to steer the team to victory in the 30th over as Nalanda completed their group matches unbeaten.

‎Earlier they beat Thurstan (155) by seven wickets, St. Servatius’ Matara (187) by four wickets and Gurukula (113) by nine wickets.

‎Ranmith’s composed knock which came in 69 balls included six boundaries and a six.

‎Nadul Jayalath provided an aggressive start with 27 off 23 balls, including five boundaries, while Nemindu Akmeemana contributed 25 off 41 deliveries. Lithum Wijekumara added 14, and Rusandu Silva remained unbeaten on eight.

‎St. Joseph’s, batting first, struggled to build momentum and were restricted to 135 for nine in 47.2 overs. Pamoda Dalpadado top-scored with 36 off 59 balls, while Kavith Fernando made 24 and Vishwa Peiris contributed 17 off 63 deliveries.

‎Nalanda’s bowlers maintained control throughout the innings, with Santhul Wijeyarathne leading the attack with two wickets for 19 runs from nine overs. Osanda Pamuditha, Nadul Jayalath, Rusandu Silva, Methuka Perera, Sadew Indeepa and Lithum Wijekumara claimed a wicket apiece.

Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his ascension to the captaincy in grand style, smashing a 53-ball 89 that blazed his side to a comprehensive win in the first T20I against Sri Lanka . After Sri Lanka won the toss in Rawalpindi and somewhat curiously opted to set a target, the 182 they put up was made to look inadequate by a bellicose Pakistan’s  showing up top that put up 70 in the powerplay and scarcely slowed down after. Maaz Sadaqat,  who needed just 28 balls to bring up his half-century, put up a 92-run stand with Farhan after Fakhar Zaman’s cameo up top, flaying a lacklustre bowling attack.

Pakistan’s efforts with the ball were altogether more impressive, if sullied by bursts of untidiness that saw a whopping 29 extras conceded. But they reined Sri Lanka in from time to time, stifling their momentum and keeping the score within chasing range. Mohammad Imran’s 2-21 on debut was the pick of the bowling efforts, and while Lahiru Udara kept Sri Lanka afloat almost single-handedly with 91 off 55, the support he needed from the other end never quite came.

When Sri Lanka batted after winning the toss, it took Kamil Mishara nine deliveries to get off the mark. By the end of the fourth over, Sri Lanka were scoring at a run-a-ball, and had lost two wickets. Pakistan, by contrast, took just 2.2 overs to match that score; by the end of the sixth, they had powered through at dazzling speed thanks to Farhan and Zaman’s onslaught.

Sri Lanka took far too long to begin taking advantage of the powerplay. They struggled to find their timing, the powerplay littered with multiple plays and misses, and extravagant, low-percentage shots that bore no fruit. While they did launch a bit of a recovery in the final two overs, the slow start would end up proving costly as Sri Lanka left runs on the table.

To say  Mohammad Imran wasn’t the most exciting debutant from Pakistan this game would be stating the obvious. That title belonged to Razaullah – the fast-bowling, six-hitting, sharp-jawed Edgbaston slayer Razaullah – who appears to have parlayed his stunning Test debut into white-ball call-ups. Imran, who also made his Test debut in that game and ended up being a footnote, instead found his feet in T20I cricket in Rawalpindi today.

Opening the bowling alongside Naseem Shah, he was the more effective bowler, utilizing sideways movement that more than made up for a lack of pace. He conceded just the one run in his opening over and 19 in three powerplay overs. As Sri Lanka found their feet at the halfway stage of the innings, Farhan turned back to him and Imran did not disappoint his captain. He struck with his first delivery upon return and allowed just two in the over, halting Sri Lanka’s momentum once more and capping a stellar debut.

Sri Lanka will want to move quickly on from this game, but to wipe it completely from the record would be a disservice to their opener. Confronted with a decent bowling attack on an off-day for his fellow batters, Udara almost batted through the Sri Lankan innings, playing just about every role a batter can in T20 innings.

He was the flashy starter, before shepherding his side through the early stages of the powerplay. He became an anchor for a bit before churning through the gears in the latter half of the powerplay. At times, he did so with strokes so classical they could be set to music, especially pleasing when he made some room and cleared extra cover off both pace and spin.

While support from Kamindu Mendis and Dasun Shanaka existed, it was fleeting. Soon enough, those wickets would fall, leaving Udara with the delicate dance of keeping the run rate up without letting the innings implode. That was especially true – and shown to be crucial at the death – because Sri Lanka were arguably playing a batter too light. When he finally holed out in the penultimate over, Sri Lanka ended up losing three wickets in five balls, the innings petering out on a surface where batting inadequacy was always going to be punished.

Scores:
Pakistan 187 for 6 in 18.5 overs  (Sahibzada Farhan 89, Fakhar Zaman 21, Maaz Sadaqat 50, Khawaja Nafay 12*; Nuwan Thushara 1-32, Dushmantha Chameera 1-40, Eshan Malinga 2-33, Maheesh Theekshanan 2-36) beat  Sri Lanka 182 for 8 in 20 overs (Lahiru Udara 91, Kamindu Mendis 23, Dasun Shanaka 18; Naseem Shah 3-36, Mphammad  Imran 2-21, Rasaullah 1-29, Shadab Khan 1-33, Saim Ayub 1-17) by 4 wickets

[Cricinfo]