DAMBULLA: Pakistan squandered a record-setting batting effort as Imesha Dulani’s maiden T20 International century powered Sri Lanka to a six-wicket victory in the opening match of the three-match series at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Dulani struck an unbeaten 101 off 64 balls, laced with 17 fours and a six, to anchor Sri Lanka’s successful chase of 177 with an over to spare after Pakistan had posted their highest WT20I total on Sri Lankan soil.
The win gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the series and overshadowed Shawaal Zulfiqar’s impressive return from injury, with the opener marking her first international appearance since September last year by scoring a fluent 63 off 41 deliveries.
Pakistan’s innings was built around an aggressive start by Shawaal and Muneeba Ali, who raced to 66 for the opening wicket. The visitors plundered 64 runs in the powerplay as Muneeba hammered 42 off just 24 balls, striking nine boundaries before being run out in the seventh over.
Shawaal then combined with debutant Eman Naseer in a valuable 61-run second-wicket stand. Eman made a confident 21, including a boundary, before becoming the first of Kavisha Dilhari’s two victims.
Shawaal brought up her maiden T20I half-century before falling for a 10-boundary knock that also included a six. Pakistan were well placed at 127-2 after 15 overs but failed to fully capitalise, adding only 49 runs in the final five overs despite late cameos from Saira Jabeen (12 off eight), Eyman Fatima and Umm-e-Hani, who struck a boundary apiece. Dilhari finished with 2-36 as Sri Lanka pulled things back at the death.
Despite the sizeable target, Sri Lanka matched Pakistan’s attacking intent. Captain Chamari Athapaththu blasted 39 off 22 balls as she and Dulani added 78 in just 7.1 overs to seize control of the chase.
Pakistan finally broke through when left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu dismissed Athapaththu, claiming her 201st wicket across international formats. Umm-e-Hani then contributed in the field with a superb diving catch at long-on before removing Vishmi Gunaratne and later taking another catch as Harshitha Samarawickrama also departed off Sandhu.
At 125-3, Pakistan briefly sensed an opening, but Dulani remained composed. She rotated the strike efficiently against Nashra while punishing the other bowlers, ensuring the required rate never became an issue.
The 24-year-old found useful support from Kavisha Dilhari, who made 32, in a decisive partnership before carrying her bat through the innings. Dulani completed her maiden international century off 63 balls and became only the second Sri Lankan woman to score a T20I hundred, after Athapaththu, as the hosts reached 177-4 with six balls remaining.
Pakistan handed WT20I debuts to batter Eman and left-arm spinner Momina Riasat, but the visitors were left ruing a below-par bowling display after their top order had laid the foundation for what appeared a match-winning total.
“We had a very good batting performance and scored more than 170, but in bowling and fielding we conceded too many runs,” Shawaal said after the defeat. “Our lines and lengths were not good enough. We’ll look to cover that in the next match because there were plenty of positives as well. The batting gives us confidence and we want to carry that into the remaining games while improving with the ball.”
Pakistan must now win the remaining two matches to avoid another series defeat after losing the preceding One-day International series 2-1.
Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026