Sahibzada Farhan's 89 on captaincy debut carries Pakistan past Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi

Sahibzada Farhan marked his first home match as Pakistan's T20I captain with 89 from 53 balls as the hosts overhauled Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi

Pakistan won the opening Twenty20 international by four wickets with seven balls to spare at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, reaching 187 for 6 in 18.5 overs after Sri Lanka had been held to 182 for 8.

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat, and Lahiru Udara gave them a total worth defending with 91 from 55 balls. Farhan answered it with an innings that decided the match.

Farhan, appointed to the role last month, was named player of the match. Pakistan lead the three-match series 1-0.

Udara carries the Sri Lanka innings

Sri Lanka lost two wickets inside the powerplay and were 18 for 2 before Udara began to rebuild. He struck 11 fours and a six in his 55-ball innings.

He added 60 for the third wicket with Kamindu Mendis, who made 23, and a further 57 for the fifth wicket with Dasun Shanaka.

Sri Lanka took 66 runs from the last six overs, with Udara falling nine short of what would have been his first T20I hundred.

His 91 is the highest Twenty20 international score made by a Sri Lankan against Pakistan, passing Kusal Perera's 84 at Dubai in 2013.

A debutant holds the total down

Mohammad Imran, playing his first international, opened the bowling and returned 2-21 from his four overs, the most economical spell of the night.

"I think the way he bowled was amazing, especially because we knew he was very good with the new ball," Farhan said of the debutant afterwards. "He has a lot of domestic cricket experience, so we were fully confident in him."

Naseem Shah took the best figures of the innings with 3-36, and the two of them between them accounted for five of the eight wickets to fall.

Fakhar and Farhan set the chase up

Pakistan needed 183 and went after it immediately. Fakhar Zaman made 21 from 13 balls as the openers put on 54 inside the first five overs.

Farhan carried on from there, hitting 10 fours and four sixes and keeping the required rate below the asking figure for almost the whole chase.

He was eventually caught in the deep, by which point the result was close to settled.

Sadaqat's fifty takes it away

Maaz Sadaqat reached 50 from 29 balls with four fours and three sixes, and his second-wicket stand with the captain was worth 92.

Pakistan lost their sixth wicket in the 19th over, but the target was by then within a single over's reach.

"I think, given the kind of form Maaz is in, he is one of the best players at the moment," Farhan said. "I told him to make the most of his form because it does not last forever."

A captain's verdict on the middle overs

Farhan was satisfied with the bowling effort at both ends of the innings and less so with what came between. "I think we did a reasonably good job in the middle, and especially our powerplay went really well," he said. "But we gave away a few too many runs in the middle."

He rated the surface a difficult one to defend on at that total. "But still, I think 180 was a good score on this wicket," he said.

"As I said, as a captain, I am very confident in my boys," Farhan added, saying Pakistan would keep playing the same way through the rest of the series.

The second match is at the same ground on 11 October, with the third to follow there on 13 October.

Scorecard: Sri Lanka 182 for 8 in 20 overs; Pakistan 187 for 6 in 18.5 overs — Pakistan won by four wickets.

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