ISLAMABAD: Sri Lanka handed Pakistan an impressive 345-run target on Tuesday as the two sides locked horns at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium for their cricket World Cup contest in Hyderabad.
Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow after winning the toss and electing to bat first, with opening batter Kusal Perera departing without scoring off a Hassan Ali delivery.
However, Sri Lanka recovered quickly courtesy of a 102-run partnership between opener Pathum Nissanka (51 runs from 61 balls) and Kusal Mendis, who scored an impressive 122 runs from 77 balls, his innings featuring six sixes.
Sadeera Samarawickrama anchored Sri Lanka’s innings by scoring 108 runs from 89 balls, skillfully finding gaps all over the ground to score his ton.
Ali came back later in the attack with an impressive spell, returning figures of 4-71 from 10 overs while Haris Rauf returned figures of 2-64 from his 10 overs.
“4 wickets in the innings for @RealHa55an as Sri Lanka finish at 344-9,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wrote on the social media platform X.
Pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi continued with his disappointing run in the tournament, finishing with figures of 1-66 from 9 overs while Muhammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan each took a wicket as Sri Lanka ended their innings at 344-9 after 50 overs.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played seven matches against each other in ICC World Cups, with the former maintaining a stellar 7-0 record against the 1996 champions.
Pakistan headed into the match slightly more confident than Sri Lanka after winning their opening World Cup encounter against the Netherlands by 81 runs on Friday. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, lost their opening fixture against South Africa by 102 runs on Saturday.
Playing XI:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
