Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka stuns No. 1 T20I side Pakistan in a one-sided game

The second-grade side of the world number eight managed to humiliate the world number one side on their home turf.

By Anuraag Peesara

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2 Min Read

Pakistan and Sri Lanka
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Pakistan and Sri Lanka. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Well, this was a result no one saw coming. With most of the first-choice players not willing to travel to Pakistan, no one expected Sri Lanka to register even a single win. Yet, they turned up brilliantly in the first of the three T20I games and smashed home a 64-run win against the world number one T20I side.

It all began with a sensational opening stand between Danushka Gunathilaka and Avishka Fernando, where Gunathilaka lashed out hard in the field-restricted overs. He played some terrific drives on the up and kept the scorecard running. Fernando on the other side just kept tucking singles and allowed Gunathilaka to complete a half-century in no time.

After adding 84-runs for the opening wicket, Gunathilaka was trapped in front of the stumps by Shadab Khan, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa, making his debut for the Lankans, made a brilliant first impression. He ensured the scoring-rate never came down under 8 and added 36 vital runs for the second wicket with Fernando.

Fernando never got going from the other end and eventually ran himself out before he could launch a final assault. Mohammad Hasnain broke the backbone of the Lankan middle-order picking up a brilliant hat-trick. He first dismissed Rajapaksa in the 16th over’s final delivery, backing it with a brace of Dasun Shanaka and Shehan Jayasuriya next over. Sri Lanka posted 165 runs for the loss of five, with Mohammad Hasnain picking a 3-fer.

Udana and Pradeep blow away Pakistan

The target in front of the world number one side in the presence of their home support didn’t seem like a challenge. But Nuwan Pradeep broke their backbone with a sensational second over of the innings, first dismissing Babar Azam and following it up with the wicket of Umar Akmal off the next ball.

Before the powerplay overs finished, Udana ensured he got the other opener Ahmed Shehzad and the hosts were in deep trouble at 22/3. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed stitched a damage-control partnership, which could persist for a duration shorter than what the hosts would’ve liked.

Once these two batters were dismissed after a lackluster 46-run partnership,  it was all one-way traffic in favor of the Islanders. They lost their final six wickets for just 25 runs, with Udana, Wanidu Hasaranga and Nuwan Pradeep doing the major damage with the cherry. Pakistan got bowled out for just 101 runs in 17.4 overs and the Islanders drew first blood in the series.

Here’s how Twitter reacted

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