PAK vs SL, 1st T20I: Hasnain's Hat-Trick Goes In Vain As Sri Lanka Win By 64 Runs

Danushka Gunathilaka's fifty followed by Nuwan Pradeep's three-wicket haul cruised the Lankan guests to a 64-run win against the hosts

Bouncing back from the ODI series loss, Sri Lanka registered their biggest-ever win against T20I win against Pakistan on Saturday at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Danushka Gunathilaka's ravishing fifty followed by Nuwan Pradeep's three-wicket haul cruised the Lankan guests to a 64-run win against the hosts. With this win, Sri Lanka lead the 3-match series 1-0. In pursuit of 166, Pakistan got off to a bad start as the side lost its opening two wickets in successive balls as Pradeep dismissed Babar Azam (13) and Umar Akmal (0) in the second over of the innings. Both the batters returned to the field after a gap of 2 and 3 years respectively and got out cheaply. Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed then retrieved the innings for the side by putting 46-run partnership, but their stint at the crease was cut short as the latter was run-out on 25, reducing Pakistan to 68/4. Sarfaraz’s dismissal in the 14th over proved as the final nail in the coffin. Sri Lanka chipped away at the wickets in the final overs and the team registered a win by 64 runs. Earlier, openers Gunathilaka and Avishka Fernando provided a quickfire start to Sri Lanka. The duo put on 84 runs for the first wicket inside ten overs. Pakistan got their first breakthrough in the tenth over as Shadab Khan dismissed Gunathilaka (57). Bhanuka Rajapaksa next came out to bat and he along with Fernando put up a 36-run stand, but their stint at the crease was cut short by Shadab as he ran out Fernando (33) in the 15th over, reducing the Islanders to 120/2. After Fernando's dismissal, Sri Lanka lost their next three wickets pretty cheaply as Mohammad Hasnain bagged a hat-trick for Pakistan and Sri Lanka was reduced to 159/5 in 19 overs. With this hat-trick, Hasnain became the youngest player to achieve the feat in T20Is. The side managed to score just six runs in the final over, taking their tally past the 160-run mark.