Dasun Shanaka  clobbered 34 off 9 balls, Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka and Janith Liyanage all chipped in with quick runs, and Sri Lanka raced to 160 for 6 in 12 overs, but Pakistan still made them sweat.

The match had been shortened to 12-overs-a-side after rain forced a delay of two hours and 20 minutes. A wet outfield also made bowling significantly more difficult, with both spinners and seamers struggling to grip the ball.

But in any conditions, this was a run-fest, Sri Lanka traveling at 13.3 an over across their innings, while Pakistan’s run rate was 12.25. In the end, Sri Lanka’s bowlers made frequent-enough incisions to slow the opposition. Wanindu Hasaranga  was chief among the destroyers, taking 4 for 35 in his three overs.

Salman Agha layed the most daring innings in the chase, thumping 45 off 12 balls. Had he survived for two further overs, Pakistan might have had the momentum to get over the line. In the end, they fell 14 short.

One person has died and 300 properties have been destroyed in bushfires that have torn across south-east Australia.

The fires have raged in dozens of locations across the country for several days, mostly in the state of Victoria, but also in New South Wales, burning through land almost twice the size of Greater London.

A state of emergency has been declared in Victoria as thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft battle the blaze. Residents in more than a dozen communities have been advised to leave their homes.

Authorities fear the fires, which are being fuelled by very hot, dry and windy conditions, could burn for several weeks.

Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan said 30 active fires were burning across the state, 10 of which were of particular concern.

(BBC)

Iran has warned it will retaliate if attacked by the US, as protesters defied a deadly government crackdown on Saturday night.

Videos verified by the BBC and eyewitness accounts appeared to show the government ramping up its response to the protests, which have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across every province in Iran.

Medics at two hospitals have told the BBC that more than 100 bodies had been brought in over a two day period. The nationwide death toll is feared to be far higher.

The US has threatened to strike Iran over the killing of protesters. Iran’s parliament speaker warned that if the US attacked, Israel along with US military and shipping centres in the region would become legitimate targets.

The protests were sparked in the capital, Tehran, by soaring inflation, and are now calling for an end to the clerical rule of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s attorney general said anyone protesting would be considered an “enemy of God” – an offence that carries the death penalty – while Khamenei has dismissed demonstrators as a “bunch of vandals” seeking to “please” Trump.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US “stands ready to help” as Iran “is looking at FREEDOM”.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has blamed the US and Israel for the unrest.

“They have trained certain individuals inside the country and abroad, brought terrorists into the country from outside, set mosques on fire, and attacked markets and guilds in Rasht, setting the bazaar ablaze,” he said without providing evidence.

As protests intensify, the number of deaths and injuries recorded by human rights monitors continues to rise.

Footage authenticated by BBC Persian and BBC Verify shows security officers shooting at gatherings of protesters in Tehran, in the western Kermanshah province and the southern Bushehr region.

Multiple verified videos filmed in the centre of the western city of Ilam last weekend show security forces firing shots towards Imam Khomeini Hospital, where a group of protesters had been holding a rally.

Staff at several hospitals have since told the BBC they have been overwhelmed with the injured and dead.

BBC Persian has verified that 70 bodies brought to one hospital in the city of Rasht on Friday night, while a health worker reported around 38 people dying at a Tehran hospital.

Sources inside Iran have told BBC Persian that plain-clothes officers have been targeting people filming and on their own at the protests.

Iran’s police chief said on state TV that the level of confrontation with protesters had been stepped up, with arrests on Saturday night of what he called “key figures”. He blamed a “significant proportion of fatalities” on “trained and directed individuals”, not security forces, but did not give specific details.

More than 2,500 people have been arrested since protests began on 28 December, according to a human rights group.

The BBC and most other international news organisations are unable to report from inside Iran, and the Iranian government has imposed an internet shutdown since Thursday, making obtaining and verifying information difficult.