0
W
0
0
1
0
= 1
Match Details
PAK vs SL, 1st T20, PAK vs SL 2026 live
PAK
129-4(16.4)
Pakistan won by 6 wickets š
SL
(19.2)128-10
+
P'ship : 23(20)
Commentary
All
Highlights
Overs
W
6s
4s
Inn 1
Inn 2
Milestone
An easy win for Pakistan to kick off the three-match series with a six-wicket thumping victory over Sri Lanka, who have a lot of issues to address ahead of the second T20I that is set to take place at the same venue on Friday.
That is it from our side for this game. I am AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator, Dev Rajawat and scorer Ghanendra Singh Thakur. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
That is it from our side for this game. I am AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator, Dev Rajawat and scorer Ghanendra Singh Thakur. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
Salman Ali Agha (Pakistan Captain): "I honestly wasnāt expecting dew because of the weather. It was cloudy, so I thought it wouldnāt come into play. But looking back now, the toss turned out to be really important because a lot of dew settled in after five or six hours of play. That made a big difference later on.
In the first innings, the pitch was holding and spinning a bit, so I felt something around 140-150 would have been a challenging total. But the surface changed quite a lot in the second innings. With the dew and maybe after the roll, the pitch got much better to bat on. At that stage, I felt even 170 or 180 could have been chased, so conditions definitely favored the team batting second.
Looking ahead, with the T20I World Cup coming up, we have a fair idea of what we want to do as a team. We still have these two games here and then three at home against Australia, so we want to keep building. We know the roles we want, but we also want to try different players in those roles and see how they respond.
Fielding is one area I really want us to improve in, and I want to see consistency there game after game, especially going into the next match.
As for that full toss, itās happened three times now - my brain told me to swing, and I went with it. I know itās becoming a bit of a weakness, so thatās something I definitely need to work on. Overall, though, it was a good day, and hopefully we can keep moving in the right direction."
In the first innings, the pitch was holding and spinning a bit, so I felt something around 140-150 would have been a challenging total. But the surface changed quite a lot in the second innings. With the dew and maybe after the roll, the pitch got much better to bat on. At that stage, I felt even 170 or 180 could have been chased, so conditions definitely favored the team batting second.
Looking ahead, with the T20I World Cup coming up, we have a fair idea of what we want to do as a team. We still have these two games here and then three at home against Australia, so we want to keep building. We know the roles we want, but we also want to try different players in those roles and see how they respond.
Fielding is one area I really want us to improve in, and I want to see consistency there game after game, especially going into the next match.
As for that full toss, itās happened three times now - my brain told me to swing, and I went with it. I know itās becoming a bit of a weakness, so thatās something I definitely need to work on. Overall, though, it was a good day, and hopefully we can keep moving in the right direction."
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka Captain): "See, when we play T20 cricket, the toss is vital. Setting up totals isn't easy; on these surfaces, that was covered for a couple of days. No excuses, we didn't have the batting start we wanted. We also lost wickets in clusters. We have to sort it out in the coming game.
There was a time when we recovered well when Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka were playing. And also, when Janith and I were there in the middle. Janith played well. Janith's wicket was crucial. I think we could've scored at least 150 on this track. That's where we ended up on the losing side.
I think it's totally on the approach with which you need to come to the game as bowlers. We need to hunt more. I think there wasn't enough buzz around the team that you need to have when you play international cricket. You must've seen how other teams come at us as an opposition. We need to have that energy of hunting in a pack. That wasn't there.
We always come up with a plan. Why we play Nuwan Thushara is to pick up wickets with the new ball and swing early on. Yes, Chameera is there. You can't say no to the captain when he asks you to bowl well and pick up the wickets. That was the plan for the powerplay. But momentum shifted a bit. He had a bad day, but we'll correct those areas."
There was a time when we recovered well when Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka were playing. And also, when Janith and I were there in the middle. Janith played well. Janith's wicket was crucial. I think we could've scored at least 150 on this track. That's where we ended up on the losing side.
I think it's totally on the approach with which you need to come to the game as bowlers. We need to hunt more. I think there wasn't enough buzz around the team that you need to have when you play international cricket. You must've seen how other teams come at us as an opposition. We need to have that energy of hunting in a pack. That wasn't there.
We always come up with a plan. Why we play Nuwan Thushara is to pick up wickets with the new ball and swing early on. Yes, Chameera is there. You can't say no to the captain when he asks you to bowl well and pick up the wickets. That was the plan for the powerplay. But momentum shifted a bit. He had a bad day, but we'll correct those areas."
Shadab Khan (Player of the Match): "First of all, thanks to my team. Coming back to international cricket after an injury is never easy. You always feel that pressure because youāre starting again from zero and you have to prove yourself all over. Alhamdulillah, Iām really happy.
Playing in the Big Bash after my injury helped a lot, both with confidence in my bowling and with the bat. I just tried to keep things simple and trusted my process. The surface definitely helped me today.
When you play a lot of cricket, you learn to assess conditions quickly. On this wicket, bowling a little fuller than a good length worked well. When I hit that fuller length, the ball was holding a bit, and even a good-length delivery felt shorter to the batter. Thatās what worked for me, and I focused on sticking to that plan.
As for the T20I World Cup around the corner, playing at that level is always a dream for any player, and itās no different for me. This is just one step, and hopefully itās a step forward for us as a team. Iām really happy with how the team performed overall.
The tone set by Salman Mirza and Wasim Jr. gave us spinners and the bowling unit a great platform. It was a strong team effort, and Iām grateful to be part of it."
Playing in the Big Bash after my injury helped a lot, both with confidence in my bowling and with the bat. I just tried to keep things simple and trusted my process. The surface definitely helped me today.
When you play a lot of cricket, you learn to assess conditions quickly. On this wicket, bowling a little fuller than a good length worked well. When I hit that fuller length, the ball was holding a bit, and even a good-length delivery felt shorter to the batter. Thatās what worked for me, and I focused on sticking to that plan.
As for the T20I World Cup around the corner, playing at that level is always a dream for any player, and itās no different for me. This is just one step, and hopefully itās a step forward for us as a team. Iām really happy with how the team performed overall.
The tone set by Salman Mirza and Wasim Jr. gave us spinners and the bowling unit a great platform. It was a strong team effort, and Iām grateful to be part of it."
Player of the Match: Shadab Khan
10:11 PM IST and Local Time: A complete dominating performance from Pakistan as they steamroll the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka, with a six-wicket hammering in Dambulla and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series!
Earlier in the evening, Salman Ali Agha won the right toss and opted to bowl first. Sri Lanka were never in it as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were knocked over for just 128 in 19.2 overs. There were plenty of batters getting the start. Barring Janith Liyanage, who scored 40 off 31 balls, none of them made noteworthy contributions.
Salman Mirza started the Lankan downfall by removing Kamil Mishara for a duck in the 3rd over, and then there was no return for the hosts. Mirza finished with 3/18. Abrar Ahmed was special again and ended up with 3/25. Shadab Khan impressed in the middle overs and announced his comeback with figures of 2/25. Mohammad Wasim Jnr snapped a couple of wickets as well. The man in form, Mohammad Nawaz, leaked runs and was wicketless, but that didn't put the Men in Green in trouble.
Sahibzada Farhan & Saim Ayub set the chase on fire, adding 59 inside the powerplay, courtesy of some lacklustre bowling from Nuwan Thushara. Maheesh Theekshana knocked over Ayub for 24 off 18 balls in the last over of the powerplay.
Farhan continued on his merry way and slammed a cracking half-century, hitting 51 off 36 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes. Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha (16 off 11) got a start, but holed out while trying to smash a low full toss from Wanindu Hasaranga.
Dushmantha Chameera got rid of Farhan, and Fakhar Zaman had a rare failure, getting stumped off Dhananjaya de Silva as Pakistan slipped to 106/4 from 94/1. But that didn't put them under pressure as the target was way too small for a big hiccup. Usman Khan (7* off 13) and Shadab (18* off 12) saw the team home inside 17 overs.
Sri Lankan pacers let them down, especially Thushara in the first spell. There was no coming back from there, as the score was not a huge one to defend. Spinners did a good job. Chameera also did an okay-ish job. Sri Lanka need to bounce back on Friday, else this series will slip away from their hands even before they blink.
Stay tuned for the post-match ceremony!
Earlier in the evening, Salman Ali Agha won the right toss and opted to bowl first. Sri Lanka were never in it as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were knocked over for just 128 in 19.2 overs. There were plenty of batters getting the start. Barring Janith Liyanage, who scored 40 off 31 balls, none of them made noteworthy contributions.
Salman Mirza started the Lankan downfall by removing Kamil Mishara for a duck in the 3rd over, and then there was no return for the hosts. Mirza finished with 3/18. Abrar Ahmed was special again and ended up with 3/25. Shadab Khan impressed in the middle overs and announced his comeback with figures of 2/25. Mohammad Wasim Jnr snapped a couple of wickets as well. The man in form, Mohammad Nawaz, leaked runs and was wicketless, but that didn't put the Men in Green in trouble.
Sahibzada Farhan & Saim Ayub set the chase on fire, adding 59 inside the powerplay, courtesy of some lacklustre bowling from Nuwan Thushara. Maheesh Theekshana knocked over Ayub for 24 off 18 balls in the last over of the powerplay.
Farhan continued on his merry way and slammed a cracking half-century, hitting 51 off 36 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes. Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha (16 off 11) got a start, but holed out while trying to smash a low full toss from Wanindu Hasaranga.
Dushmantha Chameera got rid of Farhan, and Fakhar Zaman had a rare failure, getting stumped off Dhananjaya de Silva as Pakistan slipped to 106/4 from 94/1. But that didn't put them under pressure as the target was way too small for a big hiccup. Usman Khan (7* off 13) and Shadab (18* off 12) saw the team home inside 17 overs.
Sri Lankan pacers let them down, especially Thushara in the first spell. There was no coming back from there, as the score was not a huge one to defend. Spinners did a good job. Chameera also did an okay-ish job. Sri Lanka need to bounce back on Friday, else this series will slip away from their hands even before they blink.
Stay tuned for the post-match ceremony!
OVER 17
Pakistan
129/4
Usman Khan
7(13)
Shadab Khan
18(12)
Charith Asalanka
0-7(0.4)
16.4 C Asalanka to U Khan
2 DONE AND DUSTED! Short and around off. Usman gets down and swipes it to the left of deep square leg. Picks up two runs to seal the deal. PAKISTAN HAVE DEFEATED BY 6 WICKETS WITH 20 BALLS TO SPARE TO TAKE A LEAD OF 1-0 IN THE 3-MATCH SERIES!!
16.3 C Asalanka to S Khan
1 Much fuller and on the pads. 85 kmph. Shadab knocks it down to long on for one.
Commentary