Sohail Tanvir bowled a brilliant spell as he claimed three wickets © AFP
Pakistan fast-bowler, Sohail Tanvir bowled a brilliant spell as he claimed three wickets in order to ensure that Pakistan draw first blood by 29 runs against Sri Lanka in the first of the two-match T20I series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday. Earlier, Pakistan skipper, Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first as Pakistan put up a challenging total of 175 for the loss of five wickets in 20 Overs, courtsesy of big innings from Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal. Sarfraz Ahmed was been dropped and Umar Akmal came in while Sri Lanka move in with a fairly strong squad. LIVE SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2015, 1st T20I at Colombo
Sri Lanka started their chase on a real shaky note as they lost their three top-order batsmen in the opening four overs in the form of Kusal Perera, Tillkaratne Dilshan and Kithuruwan Vithange for four, six and one, respectively. Perera fell in the opening over off Anwar Ali, followed by Dilshan the over next off Tanvir, while Vithange fell in the fourth over off Tanvir again. Although all-rounder Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya De Silva managed to recover the innings with a crucial 34-run stand, before Mathews fell for 23 in the 10th over off Imad Wasim. LIVE UPDATES: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2015, 1st T20I at Colombo
Dhananjaya put-up another healthy 37-run stand along with incoming batsman, Milinda Siriwardana, before he was dismissed for 31 by Shoaib Malik. It was followed by another 24-run stand between Siriwardana and Chamara Kapugedara, before Siriwardana was dismissed for 35 by Tanvir again. Just five runs later, it was Thisara Perera, who was dismissed for a mere couple off Anwar Ali. Kapugedara and Binura Fernando continued to bat until the end of the game, but the targhet seemed to be too high and the loss of early wickets had restricted their flow of runs, as Pakistan ensured a comfortable 39-run win. Tanvir was also adjudged the Man of the Match for his stellar performance with the ball.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 175 for 5 in 20 Overs (Ahmed Shehzad 46, Shoaib Malik 46, Umar Akmal 46*; Thisara Perera 2 for 30) beat Sri Lanka 146 for 7 (Dhananjaya de Silva 31, Milinda Siriwardana 35; Sohail Tanvir 4 for 29) by 29 runs.
(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)