Twitter Reactions: Pakistan edge past Sri Lanka in a humdinger; take unassailable lead

Heading into the final game at Lahore, Pakistan have already won the series.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Pakistan hug the hat-trick hero Fahim Ashraf
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Sarfraz Ahmed hugs the hat-trick hero Fahim Ashraf. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

After the one-sided affair in the opening T20 International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the hosts were speculated to turn over the visitors in the second T20I at Abu Dhabi. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, were in with an opportunity to defy the odds and draw level in the series. The contest, eventually, panned out to be a cliffhanger as both teams strained every muscle to get the better of the other. After 40 overs of an enthralling battle between bat and ball, both the teams huffed and puffed, but it was Pakistan who emerged victorious by 2 wickets with a ball remaining.

On a seemingly difficult wicket to bat, Sarfaraz Ahmed won the toss and put Sri Lanka in. The Lankans didn’t bludgeon away but stitched together a couple of healthy partnerships, which held them in good stead, going into the death overs. At the end of the 16th over, Sri Lanka stood at 106/1 and were all set to propel their score to a respectable one at the end of 20 overs. Gunathilaka played an excellent hand of 51 runs in 48 balls to set the platform for a blistering finish.

Nevertheless, things went haywire for Thisara Perera’s boys as they capitulated to an extraordinary collapse from 106/1 to 124/9. Horrendous running between the wickets, resulted in 3 run-outs, followed by Faheem Ashraf’s hat-trick turned the screws on the Sri Lankan batting. During Pakistan’s run-chase, the Sri Lankan bowlers were determined to give the hosts a run for their money. The likes of Isuru Udana, Sachith Pathirana and skipper Perera hit the right channels to tie down the Pakistan batsmen.

Meanwhile, wickets went down way too frequently for Pakistan’s comfort. The Sri Lankan skipper led the way with 3 vital wickets of Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim. Pakistan found themselves in all sorts of trouble after losing 4 early wickets. Nonetheless, a small, yet crucial knock of 28 runs by skipper Sarfraz Ahmed infused life into the game from Pakistan’s perspective. However, post his dismissal, things went downhill for the Men in Green. It eventually came down to a couple of lusty blows by Shadab Khan to seal the deal for Pakistan.

Quite expectantly, Twitter erupted after the spectacle by the sub-continent giants:

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