DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka eked out a hard fought 14-run victory over Pakistan in the third T20 at rain-hit Dambulla on Sunday, easing their batting jitters and squaring the three-match series 1-1.

The series, a warm-up for the T20 World Cup with Pakistan set to play all their matches in Sri Lanka due to political tensions with nuclear-armed neighbours India, saw the visitors clinch the opener by six wickets before rain washed out the second game.

“We were a bit worried about our batting and I’m glad we addressed that today,” said Wanindu Hasaranga, who walked away with both Player of the Match and Player of the Series honours.

“The bowlers did a good job too. The ball was wet and it wasn’t easy. We tried to bowl wide and slow and asked them to take risks.” Hasaranga took four wickets in the game and in the process completed 150 wickets in T20Is.

In a contest trimmed to 12 overs a side, Sri Lanka muscled their way to a competitive 160 before choking Pakistan to 146-8.

Having been bowled out inside 20 overs in the series opener, Sri Lanka needed a statement with the bat and duly ticked every box after being put in.

The top order laid the platform and the middle order applied the finishing touches.

Wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis made hay under the Power Play, blasting 30 off 16 balls while Dhananjaya de Silva (22 off 15) and Charith Asalanka (21 off 13) kept the scoreboard ticking.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka then swung the momentum decisively, clubbing 34 off just nine deliveries, peppered with five towering sixes.

The sixth-wicket stand between Shanaka and Janith Liyanage produced 52 runs in just 15 balls and proved the turning point, shifting the game firmly Sri Lanka’s way.

Pakistan came out swinging in reply, racing to 50 in just 19 balls with captain Salman Ali Agha hammering 45 off 12 balls, including five fours and three sixes.

But once the field spread, Sri Lanka tightened the screws, applied the choke and forced the asking rate to spiral.

“It was a good game of cricket,” Salman said. “We conceded too many runs, but our batting effort was good. Unfortunately, we fell short. We know we are going to play all our World Cup games in Sri Lanka and it’s important that we played in similar conditions,” he added.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA:
P. Nissanka c Faheem b Naseem 0
K. Mishara c Nafay b Wasim 20
K. Mendis c Usman b Wasim 30
D. de Silva c Sahibzada b Nawaz 22
C. Asalanka c Nawaz b Faheem 21
D. Shanaka c Saim b Wasim 34
J. Liyanage not out 22
W. Hasaranga not out 1

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, W-7) 10
TOTAL (for six wickets, 12 overs) 160
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-10 (Nissanka), 2-22 (Mishara), 3-54 (de Silva), 4-100 (Mendis), 5-102 (Asalanka), 6-154 (Shanaka)
DID NOT BAT: M. Theekshana, E. Malinga, M. Pathirana
BOWLING: Naseem 3-0-35-1 (3w), Wasim 3-0-54-3 (2w), Abrar 2-0-22-0 (1w), Shadab 2-0-19-0, Nawaz 1-0-8-1, Faheem 1-0-19-1

PAKISTAN:
Sahibzada Farhan b Malinga 9
Saim Ayub c Malinga b Hasaranga 6
Salman Ali Agha c Malinga b Pathirana 45
Usman Khan c Nissanka b Hasaranga 1
Mohammad Nawaz b Pathirana 28
Khawaja Nafay c de Silva b Hasaranga 26
Shadab Khan c Malinga b Hasaranga 6
Faheem Ashraf run out (Mendis) 9
Mohammad Wasim not out 7
Naseem Shah not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-7) 8
TOTAL (for eight wickets, 12 overs) 146
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-9 (Sahibzada), 2-60 (Salman), 3-62 (Saim), 4-67 (Usman), 5-116 (Nafay), 6-123 (Shadab), 7-133 (Nawaz), 8-141 (Faheem)
DID NOT BAT: Abrar Ahmed
BOWLING: Theekshana 2-0-27-0, Malinga 2-0-27-1 (5w), Pathirana 3-0-34-2 (1w), Hasaranga 3-0-35-4 (1w), de Silva 2-0-22-0
RESULT: Sri Lanka win by 14 runs Sri Lanka.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2026