Constant rains had led to abandonment of the second T20 I between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Friday and the match had not commenced. This continued to pour down the showers eliminating the toss and eventually leaving the officials with no choice except to cancel the contest and leave the three match series alive to the final game.
The washout would see Pakistan maintain the lead in the series 1-0 following their comfortable victory in the first T20I at the same venue earlier this week. The two teams now can only think about the final decisive match which will either see Pakistan win the series or Sri Lanka able to draw it.
The strength of Pakistan lies in its overall performance in the first game, as they easily pursued a goal of 129, having six wickets and 20 balls to go. The powerplay gave Openers Farhan and Saim Ayub a good platform where they partnered in a 59-run opening act and fired the chase. Ayub struck a hard knock and fell to Maheesh Theekshana, and Farhan continued to lead the innings.
Top scorer was Farhan with brisk half-century, who was briefly assisted by captain Salman Ali Agha. Although there was a mini-collapse in the middle overs, Pakistan did not feel the pressure as Usman Khan and Shadab Khan took their time to steer the team to the finish.
Pakistan bowlers had previously shattered the Sri Lankan batting lineup and the hosts were only allowed 128 in 19.2 overs. Early losses of both openers at a cheap cost made it difficult and to an extent impossible to recover, though Janith Liyanage made an effort to do so, but this was not enough to make it count.
Pakistan will go into the last game on positive note and Sri Lanka must go to win on their home field.
