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

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Afghanistan’s pace attack fought back late in the day as Bangladesh went to stumps on 317 for eight on day one in Abu Dhabi.

Mohammad Saleem, Yamin Ahmadzai and Ismat Alam combined to take seven out of the eight wickets that fell on the day. For Bangladesh, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hassan and Litton Das made fifties.

Saleem targeted the shorter length after lunch, while Ahmadzai found success pitching the ball fuller. Ismat, meanwhile, bowled within himself and was rewarded with the wickets of both set batters Tanzid and Mehidy Hasan Miraz as he drew errors from each.

Tanzid was Bangladesh’s enforcer earlier in the day, hitting eight fours and four sixes in his 71-ball 83 in the first session. He looked set to get to a century in the first session, only for Ismat to thwart his charge.

Later, Shadman Islam and Litton Das struck fifties on either side of Bangladesh’s mini collapse. They lost three wickets for just four runs after they were 221 for two in the second session.

Bangladesh 317 for 8 in 84 overs  (Shadman Islam 67, Tanzid Hasan 83, Litton Das 53; Yahmin Ahmadzal 2-62 , Mohmmad Saleem 3-70, Ismat Alam 2-20) vs Afghanistan

[Cricinfo]

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first in the first T20I against Pakistan being played in Rawalpindi.