Daily Times

Earlier, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed admitted that the team needs to improve in all aspects of the game. “We need to improve in all facets. If we keep dropping catches like this in the middle overs, we won’t be able to beat any team,” he said.

Notably, Pakistan suffered a 64 run defeat in the 1st T20I of the 3-match series vs an under strength Sri Lankan side as they failed to chase the target of 166 runs after opting to bowl first on Saturday. Incidentally, this was Sri Lanka’s 1st win on the tour and they have now taken a 1-0 lead in the series. The ODI leg was won by Pakistan with a margin of 2-0 as the 1st match was washed out due to rain.

The chase started on a horror note for Pakistan as Sri Lanka bowlers Nuwan Pradeep and Isuru Udana claimed 3 top-order Pakistan batsmen to leave the hosts reeling early. While Babar Azam and Umar Akmal were dismissed by Pradeep off successive balls, Shehzad was bowled by Udana. Though Sarfaraz and Iftikhar Ahmed tried to resurrect the side, their dismissals in quick succession have dimmed the home team’s hopes which were on a high after Mohammad Hasnain became the youngest ever to pick a T20I hat-trick.

From then on it was a downward slide as one Pakistan player followed the other to the dressing room and the team threatened to get bowled out for less than a 100.

Earlier, Danushka Gunathilaka’s knock of 57 runs helped Sri Lanka post a score of 165/5 in the allotted twenty overs after being asked to bat first. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Minod Bhanuka were handed their T20I debuts for the Sri Lankan side. While for Pakistan, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad came back into the side after a long gap.