Tag: Pakistan tri-series

RAWALPINDI: Pathum Nissanka’s sublime 98* from 58 propelled Sri Lanka to a resounding win over Zimbabwe and kept his side’s hopes alive of reaching the final of the T20I tri-series.

Set a partly 147, the Islanders hit the winning runs on the second ball of the 16th over, losing only one wicket in the process.

Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka started briskly in pursuit of the chase, adding 59 in only 5.4 overs.

Nissanka remained the core aggressor while Mishara held one end and was dismissed after scoring 12 from 15 balls.

However, Nissanka continued on and forged an unbeaten 89-run stand with 64 balls with Kusal Mendis, flattening Zimbabwe bowlers.

Pathum Nissanka returned to form with four sixes and 11 fours while Mendis played a run-a-ball 25-run knock with the help of a boundary.

For Zimbabwe, Brad Evans remained the solitary wicket-taker.

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Earlier, Sri Lanka spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana spun a web around Zimbabwe batters, restricting them to a modest total.

After opting to bat here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium under lights, Zimbabwe managed to put  146-5 on the board in their 20 overs.

Theekshana removed Tadiwanashe Marumani for four in the opening over and followed the wicket with another scalp in the third over to provide Sri Lanka a strong start.

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Dion Myers castled for six, brought experienced Brendan Taylor to the fore, who added 36 runs for the third wicket with Brian Bennett, which provided the Chevrons some relief.

Taylor made 14 from 12 before getting bowled by skipper Dasun Shanka, leaving Zimbabwe 53-3 in 7.3 overs. Despite Zimbabwe stitching brief stands, the Islanders kept tight and never allowed them to score freely.

Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl remained the notable contributors with the bat for Zimbabwe, both scoring 37 runs respectively with the aid of five fours and a maximum.

For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana bowled clinical spells and picked up two wickets in their quota of four overs.

READ: ICC unveils schedule for men’s T20 World Cup 2026

RAWALPINDI: Zimbabwe have won the toss and decided to first against Sri Lanka in the fifth fixture of the T20I tri-series here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Janith Liyanage, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Pavan Rathnayake, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Eshan Malinga

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Zimbabwe 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Brendan Taylor (wk), 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Dion Myers, 7 Tashinga Musekiwa, 8 Brad Evans, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Tinotenda Maposa, 11 Richard Ngarava

Head to Head

Both teams have faced each other 11 times in the shorter format, with the Islanders winning seven of those matches, while the Chevrons have won three.

Matches 11: Sri Lanka 7, Zimbabwe 4

For the unversed, Zimbabwe have won their previous game against Sri Lanka whereas the Islanders are yet to open their account in the tri-series.

READ: South Africa on brink of Test series win with India tottering on 27-2

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan ace batter Babar Azam equalled India’s Virat Kohli’s record for the most half-centuries in T20I cricket during the tri-series fixture against Zimbabwe.

The right-hander notched up his 38th half-century here at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, reaching the landmark in the 14th over off 43 balls with four boundaries.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan posted 195-5 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Sahibzada Farhan’s and Babar Azam’s gutsy knocks.

Most fifties in T20Is

• 38 – Virat Kohli (117 innings)
• 38 – Babar Azam (127 innings)*
• 32 – Rohit Sharma (151 innings)
• 30 – Mohammad Rizwan (93 innings)
• 28 – David Warner (110 innings)
• 28 – Jos Buttler (132 innings)

After losing Saim Ayub in the second over, Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam forged a 103-run stand.

Overall, Farhan, who remained the core aggressor, made 63 from 41 balls, laced with three maximums and four boundaries, while Babar played the second fiddle and hit two sixes and seven fours on his way to 74 from 52 balls.

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Sahibzada departed in the 15th over when Pakistan were cruising at 132 in 15.2 overs.

Nonetheless, it was Fakhar Zaman’s cameo in the last over that took Pakistan near the 200-run mark. The southpaw, who came down the order, hit three sixes in his 27 from just 10 balls.

For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza picked up two wickets in his quota of four overs.

For the unversed, Babar Azam is already leading the run charts in T20I cricket as he has amassed 4392 runs to his name in 134 matches with the help of 38 fifties and three centuries.

READ: Pakistan-Australia ODI series likely to be postponed: reports

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq on Sunday entered an elite list after claiming a hat-trick against Zimbabwe in the tri-series fixture here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Usman achieved the feat in the 10th over of Zimbabwe’s innings, which left the Chevrons reeling at 60-7.

The right-armer, first Tony Munyonga, for one, cleaned up Tashinga Musekiwa for duck, and lastly removed Wellington Masakadza to record a landmark feat.

The 30-year-old became the fourth Pakistani player to bag a hat-trick in the shorter format.

Hat-tricks for Pakistan in T20Is

Faheem Ashraf against Sri Lanka in 2017

Mohammad Hasnain against Sri Lanka in 2019

Mohammad Nawaz against Afghanistan 2025

Usman Tariq against Zimbabwe 2025

Batting first here under lights at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan piled up 195-5 in their 20 overs.

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Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan added 29 for the opening wicket in 2.3 overs. The former was caught after scoring 13 from 8 with the help of two sixes.

Following the early wicket, Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam forged a 103-run stand as both players flexed their muscles at the back end of the innings.

Farhan, who remained the core aggressor, made 63 from 41 balls, laced with three maximums and four boundaries, while Babar played the second fiddle and hit two sixes and seven fours on his way to 74 from 52 balls.

Sahibzada departed in the 15th over when Pakistan were cruising at 132 in 15.2 overs.

Nonetheless, it was Fakhar Zaman’s cameo in the last over that took Pakistan near the 200-run mark. The southpaw, who came down the order, hit three sixes in his 27 from just 10 balls.

For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza picked up two wickets in his quota of four overs.

READ: Pakistan-Australia ODI series likely to be postponed: reports

RAWALPINDI: Babar Azam’s gutsy half-century, backed by Usman Tariq’s four-wicket haul, propelled Pakistan to a 69-run victory over Zimbabwe in the fourth fixture of the T20I tri-series.

Set a daunting 196-run target, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 126 in 19 overs.

Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim inflicted a poor start on Zimbabwe as they were reduced to 25-3 in 3.3 overs.

Brian Bennett managed to score nine while Tadiwanashe Marumani went back after scoring four. Veteran batter Brendan Taylor also got out after scoring only eight.

With this, skipper Sikandar Raza arrived at the crease and tried to put the Chevrons’ chase back on track with a 34-run partnership alongside Ryan Burl.

The scorecard read 59 when Raza (23) was caught off Mohammad Nawaz’s bowling, a wicket that sparked a collapse that the visitors could not recover from it.

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Usman Tariq further piled on misery with a hat-trick in the 10th over, which left them reeling at 60-7. However, it was Ryan Burl’s spirited knock off 67* from 49 balls with the aid of eight fours and two sixes that helped them cross 100-run mark.

For Pakistan, Usman Tariq stood out with four wickets to his name, whereas Mohammad Nawaz scalped two in his four overs.

Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam’s half-centuries and Fakhar Zaman’s cameo powered Pakistan to a strong total.

Batting first here under lights at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan piled up 195-5 in their 20 overs.

Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan added 29 for the opening wicket in 2.3 overs. The former was caught after scoring 13 from 8 with the help of two sixes.

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Following the early wicket, Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam forged a 103-run stand as both players flexed their muscles at the back end of the innings.

Farhan, who remained the core aggressor, made 63 from 41 balls, laced with three maximums and four boundaries, while Babar played the second fiddle and hit two sixes and seven fours on his way to 74 from 52 balls.

Sahibzada departed in the 15th over when Pakistan were cruising at 132 in 15.2 overs.

Nonetheless, it was Fakhar Zaman’s cameo in the last over that took Pakistan near the 200-run mark. The southpaw, who came down the order, hit three sixes in his 27 from just 10 balls.

For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza picked up two wickets in his quota of four overs.

READ: Muthusamy ton, Jansen 93 put South Africa on top in second India Test

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bat first in the T20I tri-series clash against Zimbabwe at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

Playing XIs

Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 3 Brendan Taylor (wk), 4 Sikandar Raza (capt.), 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Tony Munyonga, 7 Tashinga Musekiwa, 8 Brad Evans, 9 Tinotenda Maposa, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Wellington Masakadza

Pakistan: 1. Saim Ayub, 2. Sahibzada Farhan, 3. Babar Azam, 4. Salman Ali Agha, 5. Usman Khan, 6. Fakhar Zaman, 7. Muhammad Nawaz, 8. Faheem Ashraf, 9. Mohammad Wasim, 10. Naseem Shah, 11. Usman Tariq

HEAD TO HEAD

Pakistan and Zimbabwe have faced each other 22 times in T20I cricket, with the Green Shirts emerging victorious on 19 occasions.

Catch Pakistan Tri-Series news updates here!

Pakistan have remained unbeaten in the tri-series, opening their campaign on a positive note, defeating Zimbabwe by five wickets earlier this week after successfully chasing a 148-run target in 19.2 overs.

They also defeated Sri Lanka comprehensively by seven wickets in their second fixture.

Before that, the Green Shirts, continuing their good white-ball form at home, whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the ODI series.

READ: Muthusamy ton, Jansen 93 put South Africa on top in second India Test

RAWALPINDI: Opening batter Saim Ayub became the ninth Pakistan player to score 1000 runs in T20Is during the T20I tri-series clash against Sri Lanka here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Saim came to the crease with 983 runs to his name in 50 innings and achieved the feat during the fifth over of Pakistan’s innings with a drive against Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka.

With this, he joined the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, and Shahid Afridi, hence becoming the ninth Pakistan batter to score 1000 runs in T20Is.

The 23-year-old, however, was stumped in Shanaka’s over after scoring 20 off 18 with the help of four boundaries.

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Nonetheless, Pakistan eased past Sri Lanka by seven wickets, courtesy of a complete all-round performance with the bat and ball.

Set only 129, Pakistan sealed victory on the third ball of the 15th over, losing just three wickets in the process.

Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub were off to a flyer, adding 47 in only five overs. Farhan remained the core aggressor while Saim milked the scoring with singles.

The partnership was broken with Saim’s wicket, who made 20 off 18 with the aid of four boundaries.

Meanwhile, Farhan continued to charge and stitched another 69-run partnership with Babar Azam, who played second fiddle in the stand.

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Eventually, Green Shirts reached the target without major hiccups, with Sri Lanka taking two more wickets in the shape of Babar Azam (16) and Salman Ali Agha for a golden duck.

Farhan top-scored with 80 off just 45 deliveries, studded with five sixes and half a dozen fours.

For Sri Lanka, Dushmantha Chameera picked up two wickets.

The fourth match of the T20I tri-series will be played tomorrow at the same venue between Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

READ: Agha hails Pakistan’s ‘complete performance’ after Sri Lanka win

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan T20I skipper praised his side’s all-round performance as they defeated Sri Lanka in the third fixture of the T20I Tri-Series.

The Green Shirts outplayed the Islanders by seven wickets, courtesy of clinical batting and bowling performances.

Mohammad Nawaz starred with the ball, picking up a three-wicket haul, which was backed by an explosive knock from Sahibzada Farhan.

The right-hander hit 80* off just 45 with the help of five sixes and six fours, which powered Green Shirts to a victory inside 15 overs while chasing 129.

Speaking after the match, Salman Ali Agha lauded clinical performance from his side, noting that he has the luxury of all-rounder like Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.

Catch Pakistan Tri-Series news updates here

“It was a complete game, we were very good with both bat and ball. We started really well in all three departments and that’s what we look for. We had the luxury of Nawaz and Faheem as allrounders, who can bat and take wickets as well,” he said in post-match presentation.

The skipper emphasized bench strength while mentioning Mohammad Wasim Jr. for demonstrating excellent performance.

Salman also mentioned that Pakistan is close to ‘Perfect XI’ and credited Salman Mirza for becoming a front-line bowler.

“We always look for bench strength, and now we have bowlers sitting on the bench, like Wasim Jr., who can put up these kinds of performances.

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“That’s what we always wanted, having a perfect bench. Salman was a bench kind of a bowler a few series back and now he’s becoming a front line bowler as well, it is something I wanted to have but now it’s tough making a playing XI,” he maintained.

Regarding Sahibzada Farhan, he said that his batting can change the game on its head and stressed the strong bench strength.

“We always wanted to start well, and he’s someone who if he bats for three, four overs, he can bat like that. He can take the game away from any opposition. We’re very close to having a perfect playing XI, and giving chances to fringe players, who are coming in and chipping in,” he concluded.

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RAWALPINDI: Sahibzada Farhan’s whirlwind knock and Mohammad Nawaz’s three-wicket haul powered Pakistan to a resounding win over Sri Lanka in the third fixture of the T20I Tri-Series here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday. 

Set only 129, Pakistan sealed victory on the third ball of the 15th over, losing just three wickets in the process.

Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub were off to a flyer, adding 47 in only five overs. Farhan remained the core aggressor while Saim milked the scoring with singles.

The partnership was broken with Saim’s wicket, who made 20 off 18 with the aid of four boundaries.

Meanwhile, Farhan continued to charge and stitched another 69-run partnership with Babar Azam, who played second fiddle in the stand.

Eventually, Green Shirts reached the target without major hiccups, with Sri Lanka taking two more wickets in the shape of Babar Azam (16) and Salman Ali Agha for a golden duck.

Catch Pakistan Tri-Series news updates here

Farhan top-scored with 80 off just 45 deliveries, studded with five sixes and half a dozen fours.

For Sri Lanka, Dushmantha Chameera picked up two wickets.

Earlier, Pakistan left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz bowled a clinical spell, picking up a three-wicket haul to limit Sri Lanka for a modest total.

Sri Lanka could not capitalize on the decision to bat first as they huffed and puffed to 128-7 in their 20  overs, thanks to Janith Liyanage’s valiant 41 from 38 balls.

Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka provided a decent start with a 31-run stand in 3.1 overs. Mishara looked promising before getting caught on 22 from 12 with the help of two sixes and two fours.

Kusal Mendis was run out soon after for just three with the Islanders 38-2 in 5.4 overs. Meanwhile, Nissanka, trying to regain form, played 22 and was caught after scoring 17 from 23 deliveries with the help of only a single boundary.

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As a result, the visitors were 60-3 in 8.1 overs before a middle-order collapse saw them reeling 86-6 in 13.3 overs.

Nawaz remained the architect of the collapse, including two in an over which left Sri Lanka searching for answers. However, it was Janith Liyanage’s knock lower down the order that provided his side some respite. He hit three fours and a six in his knock.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz topped the wickets chart with three wickets in his quota of four overs. Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, and Salman Mirza also chipped in with one wicket apiece.

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