Dambulla: The third and final T20 match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RTCS) on Sunday.
The visitors currently lead the series 1-0 with the second match abandoned due to persistent rain, with no toss or play possible.
According to the latest weather reports, the temperature during the match will be around 24 degrees Celsius, Realfeel will be 24 degrees Celsius. Skies will be partly cloudy with 62% cloud cover, while relative humidity will hover around 80%, making conditions very humid.
Wind blowing from the east at 13 km/h, gusting to 24 km/h. Visibility is good at 8 km, and the cloud ceiling is approximately 9,100 m. Air quality is fair and the dew point is around 20 degrees Celsius.
However, there is a 51% chance of heavy rain in the evening, which may affect the game.
Pakistan set a simple target of 129 to win in the series opener and won by 6 wickets with 20 balls to spare.
Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub laid a strong foundation in a 59-run partnership, with Ayub falling to Mahesh Dikshana in the last ball of a batting powerplay, scoring 24 off 18 balls with three fours and a six.
Farhan added 25 runs for the second wicket with captain Salman Ali Agha, but both were dismissed in successive overs, leaving Pakistan at 101/3.
Farhan scored 51 off 36 balls while Agha scored 16 off 11 balls. In the 14th over, Fakhar Zaman was stumped for 5 by Dhananjaya de Silva.
Usman Khan and Shadab Khan then put on a match-winning partnership to take Pakistan to victory and seal victory in the 17th over. Shadab remained unbeaten on 18 off 12 balls while Usman remained unbeaten on 7.
Vanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Sameera, Mahesh Dikshana and Dhananjaya De Silva took one wicket each for Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Pakistan’s decision to bat first paid off as their bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 128 in 19.2 overs.
Both openers Kamil Mishara (0) and Pathum Nissanga were lost inside the powerplay for just 15 runs.
Kusal Mendis (14) and Dhananjaya de Silva (10) tried to stabilize the innings but fell in quick succession as Sri Lanka were 38/4 in 6.5 overs.
Janith Lienake scored 40 runs off 31 balls including 2 fours and a six before being dismissed by Abrar Ahmed in the 18th over.
Salman Mirza dismissed skipper Dasun Shanaka (12) and tailender Tushmantha Sameera (0) in the last over, while Mohammad Wasim Jr got out with a catch to Mahesh Deekshana in the second ball of the last over.
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed and Salman bagged three wickets each while Shatab Khan and Mohammad Wasim Jr bagged two wickets each.
Groups:
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faqar Zaman, Khawaja Nafe (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Uz Khan, Uqman Khan and Uqman.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (catch), Pathum Nissanga, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sarith Asalanga, Janith Lienake, Kamindu Mendis, Vanindu Hasaranga, Dunit Vellalake, Mahish Dikshana, Dushana Hemantha, Dusnan Samantha, Traman Samantha, Traman Samantha, Nuwan Tushara and Eshaan Malinga.