**Early Wickets: Sri Lanka Falters**
Sri Lanka, invited to bat first, faced a string of early dismissals that put them on the back foot. Kusal Mendis was dismissed for a duck on the second ball of the innings. Another key player, Pathum Nissanka, also fell cheaply after scoring just 8 runs. Although Kusal Perera and skipper Charith Asalanka added some runs, they too fell to the bowling of Haris Rauf and Hussain Talat. Sri Lanka lost half their side for just 58 runs, a precarious position early in their innings.
**Kamindu Rescues Sri Lanka with a Defiant Knock**
While Shaheen Afridi, Hussain Talat, and Haris Rauf inflicted significant damage on Sri Lanka’s batting lineup, Kamindu Mendis stood firm. At one stage, Sri Lanka were struggling at 80/6, following the dismissal of Wanindu Hasaranga, who scored 15 runs. Kamindu then put together a 43-run partnership with Chamika Karunaratne, helping Sri Lanka push past the 120-run mark.
In the penultimate over of the innings, Kamindu was trapped lbw by Shaheen Afridi. Although the DRS decision sparked some controversy, Kamindu had to depart after scoring a resilient 50.
**Stats: Kamindu’s Third T20I Fifty**
Kamindu Mendis scored 50 runs off 44 balls, hitting 3 fours and 2 sixes. This was his third half-century in T20 Internationals. Playing his 32nd T20I, the left-handed batter has now accumulated over 500 runs in the format. In 28 innings, Kamindu has scored 525 runs at an average of 21, boasting a strike rate of 128.04. Notably, he made his T20I debut against Pakistan.
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**Pakistan’s Early Setback: From 45/0 to 50/3**
Unlike Sri Lanka, Pakistan began with a solid opening partnership. Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman resisted the initial bowling spells of Numan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera, steering Pakistan to 45 runs by the sixth over.
However, Maheesh Theekshana dismissed both openers in the same over, bringing Sri Lanka back into the game. In the following over, Wanindu Hasaranga removed Saim Ayub, leaving Pakistan in a precarious position at 50/3.
**Middle Overs: Pakistan Bounces Back**
Hasaranga continued to apply pressure by dismissing Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha for 5 runs. Pakistan managed to cross the 80-run mark before Dushmantha Chameera dismissed Mohammad Haris, who scored 13.
Hussain Talat (32* not out) and Iftikhar Nawaz (38* not out) then joined forces, guiding Pakistan home with an unbeaten 58-run partnership. They played sensible, percentage cricket, capitalizing on key boundary opportunities to seal the match comfortably by 18 overs.
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**Milestone: Shaheen Afridi Becomes Pakistan’s Second-Highest T20I Wicket-Taker**
Shaheen Afridi was the standout bowler for Pakistan during Sri Lanka’s innings, claiming three wickets for 28 runs in his four overs. With his second wicket in this match, Shaheen surpassed Shadab Khan’s tally of 112 wickets to become Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker in T20 International cricket.
Shaheen now has 114 T20I wickets, trailing only Haris Rauf, who leads with 130 wickets.
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**Super Four Points Table Update**
Pakistan, having bounced back after a previous loss to India in the Super 4 stage, now sit second in the points table with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of 0.226. They have one remaining match against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are fourth in the table following two consecutive defeats, the first of which was against Bangladesh.
India top the table with an identical NRR of 0.226 and still have yet to play Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/sports/asia-cup-2025-pakistan-vs-sri-lanka-key-stats/story
