Sri Lanka cruise to 8-wicket victory over Pakistan in 3rd T20I

ISLAMABAD, Oct 13 (APP): Sri Lanka outplayed Pakistan by eight wickets with 17 balls to spare at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday to clinch the 3rd T20I.

Cruising to 172/2 after electing to field first and chasing down the 169-run target on the back of a match-winning, 98-run third-wicket partnership between Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis.

Kusal Mendis led the charge with a magnificent unbeaten 87 off just 48 balls, laced with 9 fours and 4 sixes, while Kamindu Mendis remained not out on 40 off 27 balls, hitting 4 boundaries.

Earlier, Sineth Jayawardena laid the foundation with a brisk 38 off 26 balls, including 5 fours and 2 sixes. Opener Lahiru Udara managed just 1 run.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Imran and Arafat Minhas picked up a wicket apiece, but the bowlers struggled to contain the Sri Lankan batters as the tourists avoided a whitewash.

Meanwhile, Pakistan got off to an aggressive start after being put into bat, finishing on 168 for 8 in 20 overs.

Captain Sahibzada Farhan led from the front with a magnificent knock of 76 off 47 balls, striking at 161.70. The skipper’s innings was laced with 7 fours and 3 sixes as he anchored the innings from start to finish.

Arafat Minhas provided crucial support as the second-highest scorer, smashing 34 off just 20 balls, including 2 fours and 2 sixes.

Other contributions came from Hasan Nawaz (16), Abdul Samad (15), Fakhar Zaman (12), Mohammad Imran (6) and wicketkeeper Khawaja Nafay (3).

For Sri Lanka, skipper Dasun Shanaka was the pick of the bowlers, returning excellent figures of 3 for 21 in his 4 overs. Eshan Malinga and Nuwan Thushara claimed two wickets each, conceding 38 runs apiece, while Vijayakanth Viyaskanth chipped in with a wicket.