Player of the Match
Player of the Match
2094dThe Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando

SL retain top ranking with series-levelling win

Sri Lanka's top order were fearsome in their defence of the top Twenty20 team ranking, as they slammed 211 for 3 to set up a 24-run, series-levelling win

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

MDKJ Perera
MDKJ Perera
84(59) 5x4 - 4x6
Control %86%
  • Productive Shot
  • leg glance
  • 47 runs
  • 1x4 - 3x6
6 5 12 5 23 16 5 12
Sharjeel Khan
Sharjeel Khan
50(25) 5x4 - 3x6
Control %76%
  • Productive Shot
  • leg glance
  • 31 runs
  • 1x4 - 3x6
0 0 9 10 7 22 1 1

Best performances - Bowlers

SMSM Senanayake
SMSM Senanayake
O4
M0
R27
W3
Eco6.75
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
KMDN Kulasekara
KMDN Kulasekara
O3.2
M0
R23
W2
Eco6.90
RHB
OFFLEG
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF

Match Details

Toss

Pakistan , elected to field first

Player Of The Match

Player Of The Series

Series result

2-match series drawn 1-1

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

20.00 start, First Session 20.00-21.20, Interval 21.20-21.40, Second Session 21.40-23.00

Match days

13 December 2013 - night match (20-over match)

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Rohan Sharma

And that's it from us. Sri Lanka and Pakistan share the two-match T20I series, and will head fresh into the first ODI on December 18. Hope you all enjoyed the match as much as we did. On behalf of Vishal Dikshit, Venkat Raghav, this is Rohan Sharma saying good night, and good luck!

Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka captain: We are over the moon. We keep our No. 1 ranking. Kusal and Dilshan batted really well, after that Seekkuge and Sangakkara batted well at the end. You know he's a legend (Sanga), he's a world-class batsman. We have some tricks up our sleeves for the ODIs, and have our game plans for the series.

Shahid Afridi has been named Man of the Series

Kusal Perera (SL), Man of the Match: Feeling very good. It was a very crucial game for us. They were bowling well so I took calculated risks in the first six overs, before rotating the strike. People mention similarities between me and Sanath Jayasuriya. Very confident for rest of series.

Mohammed Hafeez, Pakistan captain: We made the right decision to bowl first but we leaked some of the runs to bowl first. We didn't bowl in the right areas early on, and they got a score higher than what we expected. We were looking at 160-170. I think the effort was great to see by the batsmen though. Whenever there is a two-match series it is tough to decide the series, but the Sri Lankans played very well and Sharjeel put up a good fight, but those four wickets in eight balls proved the difference.

Sajid Rafiq: "Nice fight by Pakistan........ I really wasn't expecting that...."

Noman khan: "i think another t20 needs to be played to get a better series result and entertnmt.."

naqvi: "a good cricket match aftar a long time"

Well there you have it. Sri Lanka posted an imposing 211 for 3, their third-highest T20I score. Pakistan's batsmen showed promise at junctures, but too many wickets fell in clusters, especially towards the middle when five were gone with not too much added on the board. With that the series is drawn 1-1, and Sri Lanka continue to hold their No. 1 ranking, at least till the next series. Pakistan did well to come back into the contest after having been reduced to 85 for 7, with special mention going to Shahid Afridi (28), Sohail Tanvir (41) and Saeed Ajmal (20). Ajmal and Tanvir put on a record ninth-wicket partnership of 63, but it wasn't enough to close the gap. We will be back shortly for the match presentation.

19.2
W
Kulasekara to Saeed Ajmal, OUT, delivers a slower ball on a length as Ajmal is early into his midwicket hoick, with the ball hitting the pads thereafter. The umpire could see the exposed stumps behind upon the moment of impact and raises the finger to dash Pakistani hopes

Saeed Ajmal lbw b Kulasekara 20 (36m 15b 1x4 1x6) SR: 133.33

19.2
1w
Kulasekara to Saeed Ajmal, 1 wide, slower bouncer which is called wide by the umpire as it clearly went over the batsman's head
19.1
1
Kulasekara to Usman Shinwari, 1 run, yorker on target as Usman just squeezes this away to the leg side

Kula to bowl the final over

END OF OVER:
19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | PAK: 185/9 (27 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 9.73, RRR: 27.00)

  • Usman Shinwari1 (2b)
  • Saeed Ajmal20 (14b)
  • Lasith Malinga4-0-30-1
  • Thisara Perera3-0-36-2

Looks like it may just be done and dusted with 27 still required, and No. 10 and 11 left to do the job

18.6
1
Malinga to Usman Shinwari, 1 run, full an on the pads as Usman helps this down to fine leg for a single
18.5
0
Malinga to Usman Shinwari, no run, full and going down the leg side as Usman backs away in hopes of clearing this over the leg side. Sanga makes an excellent diving stop behind, and even goes for an appeal, but the umpire was not interested as it definitely bounced before it got to him

Usman Khan walks into a pressure situation

18.4
W
Malinga to Sohail Tanvir, OUT, full and swinging on middle as Sri Lanka manage to prise the Big Wicket. Tanvir was looking to flick this through the leg side, but gets a leading edge which carries low to backward point, who takes a good catch. They are checking for the no-ball and it appears as though he had over-stepped, but he has got a little bit of his foot behind the line, so it should be given out. And the umpire confirms the decision as Tanvir walks off, but not before scoring a fine 41 at No. 9, the highest T20 score at that position. Wonderful effort from the left-armer

Sohail Tanvir c Prasanna b Malinga 41 (46m 26b 5x4 1x6) SR: 157.69

Pakistan 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st18Sharjeel KhanAhmed Shehzad
2nd9Mohammad HafeezSharjeel Khan
3rd35Sohaib MaqsoodSharjeel Khan
4th21Sharjeel KhanUmar Akmal
5th1Shahid AfridiUmar Akmal
6th1Shahid AfridiUmar Amin
7th0Shahid AfridiBilawal Bhatti
8th36Shahid AfridiSohail Tanvir
9th63Saeed AjmalSohail Tanvir
10th3Saeed AjmalUsman Shinwari