Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

Lahiru Udara
91(55) 11x4 - 1x6
Control %69%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 14 runs
  • 0x4 - 0x6
10 25 3 11 9 5 10 18
Sahibzada Farhan
89(53) 10x4 - 4x6
Control %73%
  • Productive Shot
  • cover drive
  • 15 runs
  • 3x4 - 0x6
5 0 6 8 29 19 8 14

Best performances - Bowlers

Naseem Shah
Naseem Shah
O4
M0
R36
W3
Eco9
RHB
OFFLEG
2W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
Mohammad Imran(1)
O4
M0
R21
W2
Eco5.25
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
1W

Match Details

Toss

Sri Lanka , elected to bat first

Player Of The Match

Series result

Pakistan led the 3-match series 1-0

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

18.00 start, First Session 18.00-19.30, Interval 19.30-19.50, Second Session 19.50-21.20

Match days

9 October 2026 - night match (20-over match)

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Commentator: Madushka Balasuriya

On that note, it's a wrap from us. Danyal's report should be up soon. We've got a day's break before the second match, coming up this Sunday. But till then, on behalf of the rest of the team, this is Madushka signing out!

Kusal Mendis: "I think we were about 20-30 runs short. We needed to score 200+ on this pitch. Myself and Kamil got out early, we need to play positively in the powerplay. When we got out early, that made us struggle. Lahiru Udara batted really, I enjoyed his innings. I hope he carries on in the next match as well. I think we bowled a bit badly in the powerplay. We need to be tight in the first six overs. And they also batted really well."

Player of the Match goes to Sahibzada Farhan: He was happy about the powerplay batting, as well as the debut performances, including that of Mohammad Imran. He wants them to continue in this vein for the next game.

Time for the post-match presentation...

Udam: "Today's culprit Kamil Mishara's nine dot ball" --- Wouldn't want to single him out for a problem that plagues so many Sri Lankan batters. There is certainly a difficulty many of them possess against the moving ball.

Salman: "This looks so immature from Nafay by hitting the shot and then not looking at the ball. Why the coaches do not tell him to pleaaasee stop this stupid NO LOOK thing. One must look at the ball with both eyes wide open. So childish. He is not Devald Brevis." --- To be fair, is not the idea of the no-look hit that you keep an eye on the ball right up until the point of impact? Everything else is simply showmanship, no?

9.45pm So a bit of sloppy finish, but a comprehensive win nonetheless for the home side as Pakistan outplayed Sri Lanka across all departments to go 1-0 up in this three-match series. Only Lahiru Udara's 91 managed to push Sri Lanka to a competitive total, but Pakistan broke the chase in a raucous 70-run powerplay, and reached their 100 inside the opening 10 overs. By the time the death overs arrived, the requirement was less than run-a-ball, and despite losing a few wickets towards the end of the game they got over the line with ease. Sahibzada Farhan played a quintessential captain's innings, with a 53-ball 89, and by the time he was dismissed in the 18th over Pakistan needed just four more to win. Maaz Sadaqat too struck a crucial 50 off 29, while Fakhar Zaman's 21 off 13 proved vital in the powerplay. Sri Lanka's bowling struggled to contain the Pakistani batters, particularly on a favourable batting track and one that got even easier to bat on once some dew arrived. In hindsight, Sri Lanka may wonder if opting to bat first was the right call. But even so, credit should go to Pakistan's seamers, who did well stifle the Lankan batting in the powerplay and then again at the death.

18.5
6
Malinga to Khawaja Nafay, SIX, And there it is! Nafay seals the win in style, tonking this length ball over the long-on boundary! Pakistan win by four wickets, and go 1-0 up in the series!

Two needed now, one to draw level...

18.4
1lb
Malinga to Mohammad Imran, 1 leg bye, back of a length, nips back and strikes him in the midriff. But crucially they sneak a leg bye
18.3
0
Malinga to Mohammad Imran, no run, low full toss, on the stumps. Defended watchfully
18.2
W
Malinga to Shadab Khan, OUT, Not over yet! Shadab looks to hit this into next Friday, but ends up just top edging the pull as this skier is taken comfortably at deep fine leg

Shadab Khan c Thushara b Malinga 0 (3m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

Amin: "Fun fact: PTSD stands for Pakistan Team Stress Disorder. "

18.1
1
Malinga to Khawaja Nafay, 1 run, full and straight, pushed to mid-off and they run a tight single. Three needed now...

Just 4 needed then off 12. One shot away, as they say.

END OF OVER:
18 | 14 Runs 1 Wkt | PAK: 179/5 (4 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.94, RRR: 2.00)

  • Shadab Khan0 (1b)
  • Khawaja Nafay5 (5b)
  • Nuwan Thushara3-0-32-1
  • Dunith Wellalage3-0-26-0
17.6
0
Thushara to Shadab Khan, no run, banged in short, misses the attempted hook

Hamza: "@Ahmad Jawad Not "Right Wiseman" but "Right/true Shoulder", Shana is shoulder in Urdu, Siyana is Wiseman."

AadilShahzad: "@Ahmed Jawad, Shana means clever rather wise,Wise is "Daana" in urdu"

Pakistan 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st54Fakhar ZamanSahibzada Farhan
2nd92Sahibzada FarhanMaaz Sadaqat
3rd1Sahibzada FarhanHasan Nawaz
4th9Sahibzada FarhanSaim Ayub
5th23Sahibzada FarhanKhawaja Nafay
6th1Shadab KhanKhawaja Nafay
7th7Mohammad Imran (1)Khawaja Nafay