Mishara's 76 powers Sri Lanka to 184

Opening batter Kamil Mishara’s 76 off 48 propelled Sri Lanka to a strong total in a must-win T20I tri-series encounter against Pakistan here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Put into bat first, Sri Lanka put on 184-4 on the board in their allotted 20 overs.

After losing Pathum Nissanka (8) only in the second over, Kamil Mishara and Kusal Mendis stitched a 66-run partnership, bringing the score to 82 in 8.1 overs.

Mendis departed after scoring 40 from just 23 balls laced with six fours and a maximum.

The duo batted with freedom and capitalized on the fielding restrictions in the opening six overs. Consequently, the Islanders were cruising on 58 at the end of the power play.

Mishara, meanwhile, continued on despite the removal of Kusal Perara, who made six from eight deliveries. At this stage, the scorecard read 96-3 in 10.4 overs.

However, incoming Janith Liyanage partnered with Mishara and put on a 57-run stand, which laid a foundation for a strong finish.

But it was Abrar Ahmed’s clinical bowling spell that put the brakes on the visitors’ charge and restricted them from reaching the 200-run mark, which was looking possible at one stage of the innings.

Abrar also took the crucial wicket of Mishara, who was caught after hitting three sixes and six fours. Janith Liyanage hit an unbeaten 24 off 24 with the aid of two boundaries.

For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed picked up two wickets in his quota of four overs while giving away only 28.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha (c), Usman Khan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Janith Perera, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Pavan Ratnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Eshan Malinga