Sri Lanka’s interim T20I captain Dasun Shanaka made history when he led Sri Lanka to a 3-0 series win over Pakistan in their own backyard, as they beat Pakistan by 13 runs in the final match of series. He was leading the side in place of regular captain Lasith Malinga, who refused to play in Pakistan due to security concerns.
With this victory, Sri Lanka ended to their Pakistan tour with a high note, as they lost the ODI series under Lahiru Thirimanne. Both Thirimanne and Shanaka were appointed interim captain after Karunaratne, ODI captain was amongst those 10 players who refused to go to Pakistan for the series. Pakistan had won 29 out of their earlier 33 T20Is before the series.
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Dasun Shanaka wins all the three games in his first three T20Is as captain and joined the elite list which includes the likes of MS Dhoni of India and Michael Clarke of Australia, who won their first three T20Is as captain against Pakistan.
Sri Lanka won the first match by 64 runs as Pakistan failed to chase down 165. The second match saw Pakistan have bowled out for 147 inside 20 overs with Nuwan Pradeep bagging four wickets, as they were chasing 182 for the victory. The last and final game saw Pakistan failed to chase and lost by 13 runs of the target of 148 runs set by Sri Lanka.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa was the highest run-getter of the series for Sri Lanka with 112 runs in three matches including the best of 77, while Oshada Fernando made 78* in the final match on his debut. Wanindu Hasaranga took the most wickets (8) to his name, while experienced Nuwan Pradeep bagged 7 wickets as well.