Sri Lanka’s hopes of posting a competitive total were cut short as Pakistan’s pace duo Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf restricted them to just 133 for 8 in Abu Dhabi. Kamindu Mendis fought a lone battle with a half-century, but Sri Lanka still fell well below expectations.
Kamindu Mendis Stands Tall Amid Collapse
On a surface that initially promised plenty of runs, Sri Lanka collapsed to 58 for 5 inside eight overs. Kamindu Mendis, however, steadied the innings with a gritty 50 off 44 balls. He stitched crucial partnerships — 22 with Wanindu Hasaranga and 43 with Chamika Karunaratne — to give the innings some shape.
“𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖’𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆,” 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂’𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆.”
Eventually, Kamindu was undone by a Shaheen Shah Afridi yorker, trapped lbw after a successful review.
Pakistan Bowlers Dominate the Innings
Shaheen Afridi finished with 3 for 28, striking twice in the powerplay before removing Mendis. Haris Rauf backed him up with discipline at the death. Hussain Talat also chipped in with a double strike in his opening over, dismissing Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka off consecutive deliveries.
“𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚,” 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed bowled a miserly spell of 1 for 8 in his four overs, applying the brakes through the middle overs. Between overs 6 and 16, Sri Lanka managed just 44 runs, leaving them under pressure heading into the death overs.
With 180 as their pre-match target, Sri Lanka fell well short, managing only 133. Pakistan, having dominated all phases, will be confident of chasing the modest total.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah’s “Exceptionally Tough Job” at Asia Cup
