RAWALPINDI: Dushm­antha Chameera held his nerve with a barrage of pinpoint yorkers in the final over as Sri Lanka defended 184 to beat Pakistan by six runs in a nerve-jangling Twenty20 International tri-series encounter at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday night.

Needing 10 off the last six balls with three wickets in hand, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha (unbeaten 63 off 44) could only manage a single and watch helplessly as Faheem Ashraf (seven) holed out to long-on and Mohammad Wasim blocked the final perfect yorker.

A packed house fell silent as Sri Lanka clinched victory and stormed into the Saturday final.

Pakistan were reeling at 43 for 4 in the sixth over after Chameera removed Sahibzada Farhan (nine) and Babar Azam (zero) in the space of three deliveries and young pacer Eshan Malinga rattled Saim Ayub’s (27 off 18) stumps.

From that precarious position, Salman and Usman Khan (33 off 23) launched a spirited counter-attack, adding 56 for the fifth wicket and keeping the asking rate in sight.

Usman fell trying one big shot too many against Wanindu Hasaranga (1-27), but Mohammad Nawaz (27 off 16) joined his skipper to raise Pakistan’s hopes again.

The pair smashed 70 in just 36 balls for the sixth wicket, with Nawaz clubbing two sixes and Salman bringing up a classy fifty. When Nawaz skied one to long-off with 22 needed off 12, the equation still looked gettable.

However, Chameera — who finished with superb figures of 4-20 — returned to dismiss Faheem in the penultimate over and then sealed the game with ice-cool execution under pressure.

Pakistan’s chase had begun confidently with Sahibzada and Saim adding 28 in the first three overs. But Chameera’s double strike in the fourth over — Sahibzada caught at cover and Babar trapped plumb in front — triggered a familiar top-order wobble.

Saim’s flamboyant 27 ended when Malinga (2-54) dragged one back to crash into off-stump, and when Fakhar Zaman (one) miscued to midwicket, Pakistan were staring at another collapse.

Salman, though, stood firm. Elegant drives were followed by audacious ramps and inside-out lofts as he carried the fight almost single-handedly.

His unbeaten 63 — laced with four fours and three sixes — ensured Pakistan took it to the final delivery, but it proved just short.

Earlier, Kamil Mishara’s scintillating 76 off 48 balls — studded with six fours and three sixes — formed the backbone of Sri Lanka’s imposing 184 for 5.

Put in to bat by Pakistan, Sri Lanka lost Pathum Nissanka early to a beauty from Salman Mirza, but Kusal Mendis (40 off 23) and the 23-year-old Mishara added a brisk 66 for the second wicket to wrest the initiative.

Even after Mendis fell lbw to a straighter one from leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, Mishara continued to dominate, reaching his fifty in style with an inside-out six off part-timer Saim.

Pakistan’s bowlers struggled to contain the flow of runs on a batting-friendly surface. Wasim and Faheem proved expensive, while Abrar (2-28) was the pick of the attack with his clever variations.

A late flourish from Dasun Shanaka (17 off 10) and a run-out off the final ball — Shanaka stranded after a mix-up with Janith Liyanage (24 not out) — pushed Sri Lanka past 180, a total that looked unlikely during a brief mid-innings wobble.

Sri Lanka raced to 58 without loss in the six-over powerplay, with Mendis particularly severe on anything short. The wicket of Nissanka — bowled by a clever slower cutter from Salman — briefly applied the brakes, but Mendis and Mishara ensured the scoring rate never dipped below nine an over.

Abrar provided Pakistan their second breakthrough when he trapped Mendis in front with one that skidded straight, ending a dazzling knock that contained six fours and a six.

Kusal Perera’s struggle continued as he holed out to backward point off Saim for a labored six, leaving Sri Lanka 96 for 3 in the 11th over.

Mishara, however, refused to allow Pakistan any breathing space. He switch-hit Abrar for six, lofted Nawaz over long-on and punished anything short or wide with disdain.

His dismissal in the 17th over — skying a slog-sweep to long-on off Abrar — finally gave Pakistan some relief, but by then the damage was done.

Liyanage and Shanaka added 31 in quick time for the fifth wicket. Shanaka’s cameo included two towering sixes and two crunching fours, though his innings ended in unfortunate fashion when a desperate second run off the last ball resulted in a run-out, Babar’s direct hit from midwicket finding him well short.

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA:

P. Nissanka b Salman Mirza8

K. Mishara c Wasim b Abrar76

K. Mendis lbw b Abrar40

K. Perera c Nawaz b Saim6

J. Liyanage not out24

D. Shanaka run out17

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-4, W-8)13

TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs)184

DID NOT BAT: P. Rathnayake, W. Hasaranga, D. Chameera, M. Theekshana, E. Malinga

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-16 (Nissanka), 2-82 (K. Mendis), 3-96 (Perera), 4-153 (Mishara), 5-184 (Shanaka)

BOWLING: Salman Mirza 4-0-29-1, Wasim 4-0-39-0 (3w), Faheem 3-0-30-0 (1w), Abrar 4-0-28-2, Nawaz 2-0-26-0 (2w), Salman Agha 1-0-8-0, Saim 2-0-19-1 (1w)

PAKISTAN:

Sahibzada Farhan c Liyanage b Chameera9

Saim Ayub b Malinga27

Babar Azam lbw b Chameera0

Salman Ali Agha not out63

Fakhar Zaman c Shanaka b Chameera1

Usman Khan c Perera b Hasaranga33

Mohammad Nawaz c Hasaranga b Malinga27

Faheem Ashraf c Shanaka b Chameera7

Mohammad Wasim not out0

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-1, W-8)11

TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs)178

DID NOT BAT: Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-29 (Sahibzada), 2-29 (Babar), 3-38 (Saim), 4-43 (Fakhar), 5-99 (Usman), 6-169 (Nawaz), 7-178 (Faheem)

BOWLING: Theekshana 4-0-42-0, Shanaka 4-0-32-0 (2w), Chameera 4-0-20-4, Malinga 4-0-54-2 (6w), Hasaranga 4-0-27-1

RESULT: Sri Lanka won by six runs.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Dushmantha Chameera

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2025