Pakistan Defeats Sri Lanka to Clinch Tri-Series Title

 In the final match of the Tri-Nation Cricket Series held in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan team secured an easy 6-wicket victory by defeating the Sri Lankan team. Sri Lanka, who had a strong start in this match, suddenly suffered a massive collapse, losing 9 wickets for just 30 runs, which made Pakistan's victory easier.

Thanks to the bowling prowess of Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan, chasing a target of 115 runs, achieved it with 8 balls to spare.

Batting first on a dry pitch, the Sri Lankan team got off to a successful start, accumulating 56 runs during the Powerplay. Although Pathum Nissanka was dismissed in the third over by a slower ball from Shaheen Afridi, Kamil Mishara's aggressive batting against the opposition bowlers laid a strong foundation for Sri Lanka. Mishara particularly managed to score 17 runs in the final over of the Powerplay bowled by Salman Mirza, with Kusal Mendis providing support by defending his wicket.

Mishara, who scored his second half-century in 37 balls, had lifted the scoreboard to 84 runs for 1 wicket by the 11th over. However, the nature of the match completely changed when Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Kusal Mendis.

From that point onwards, the collapse of the Sri Lankan innings was so severe that Saim Ayub dismissed Mishara, and Abrar Ahmed took the wickets of Kusal Perera and Pawan Rathnayake within 3 balls. Subsequently, Nawaz, in action, destroyed Sri Lanka's middle order by taking the wickets of Janith Liyanage and Wanindu Hasaranga.

Dasun Shanaka and Maheesh Theekshana were dismissed by slower balls from Shaheen Afridi, and Salman Mirza, who dismissed Dushmantha Chameera in the 20th over, restricted Sri Lanka's innings to 114 runs. Sri Lanka, who had scored 81 runs in 10 overs, remarkably lost 9 wickets for 33 runs in the next 9.1 overs. In bowling, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz delivered excellent performances for Pakistan, taking 3 wickets each.

Chasing an easy target of 115 runs, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub built a 46-run partnership for the first wicket for the Pakistan team in 7.5 overs. Although Ishan Malinga dismissed Farhan, Babar Azam and Ayub quickly added another 29 runs for the second wicket. Due to the low bounce of the ball, Ayub was trapped leg before wicket by Wanindu Hasaranga.

Although the pitch was not very easy for batting, the insufficient total on the scoreboard proved disadvantageous for Sri Lanka. Babar Azam batted patiently, establishing a 23-run partnership with Salman Agha, and eventually, along with Fakhar Zaman, led Pakistan to victory. Thus, the Pakistan team managed to register another Tri-Series victory to their name.