Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to qualify for T20I tri-series final

• Captain Salman Ali Agha's unbeaten half-century goes in vain.
• Zimbabwe crash out of tri-series with two points in four games.
• Pakistan, Sri Lanka to face off in final in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
  

Sri Lanka secured a place in the T20I tri-series final after beating Pakistan by six runs in the sixth game at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

The victory, which was Sri Lanka's second in the ongoing series, helped them set up the final against hosts Pakistan, scheduled to be played at the same venue on Saturday.

Sri Lanka's victory also put an end to Zimbabwe's hopes of qualifying for the final as they slipped to the bottom of the standings with two points.

Set to chase a daunting 185-run target, Pakistan could accumulate 178/7 in 20 overs despite their captain Salman Ali Agha's unbeaten half-century.

Pakistan got off to a cautious start to the 185-run target, with the opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub putting together 29 runs for the first wicket before the former fell victim to Dushmantha Chameera in the fourth over.

Chameera struck again in the same over, dismissing star batter Babar Azam for a two-ball duck and reducing the home side to 29/2 in four overs.

The Green Shirts lost two more wickets inside the batting powerplay as Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman perished in the fifth and sixth overs, respectively, bringing the total down to 43/4.

The left-handed opener remained a notable run-getter for Pakistan, scoring 27 off 18 deliveries, laced with four fours and a six.

Following the collapse, wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan joined skipper Salman Ali Agha in the middle, and the duo fought valiantly to launch Pakistan's recovery.

The duo put together 56 off 41 deliveries before Usman was dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga in the 13th over. He scored a brisk 33 off 23 deliveries with the help of two sixes and as many fours.

Agha was then joined by all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, and they collaborated to turn the game on its head by adding a quickfire 70 runs in just 36 balls before the latter fell victim to Eshan Malinga in the penultimate over.

Nawaz made a handy contribution with a 16-ball 27, featuring two sixes and a four.

The equation then came down to 10 required off the final over, and Sri Lanka captain Shanaka handed the ball to Chameera, who conceded only three runs and picked up a wicket to pull off a sensational victory for his side.

The right-arm pacer led Sri Lanka's bowling charge with magnificent bowling figures of 4/20 in his four overs, followed by Eshan Malinga with two, while Wanindu Hasaranga chipped in with one.

Put into bat first, the bottom-placed touring side accumulated 184/5 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of a platform-setting second-wicket partnership between Mishara and Kusal Mendis.

Sri Lanka got off to a contrasting start to their innings as they lost their last-match hero Pathum Nissanka (eight) cheaply in the third over with just 16 runs on the board.

Following the early stutter, Mendis joined Mishara in the middle, and the duo turned the tide in Sri Lanka's favour by putting together a blistering partnership for the second wicket.

Mishara and Mendis dominated Pakistan's bowling attack to add 66 runs off just 35 deliveries until Abrar Ahmed broke the threatening partnership by trapping the wicketkeeper batter lbw on the first delivery of the ninth over.

Mendis made a notable contribution to Sri Lanka's total with a 23-ball 40, laced with six fours and a six.

Following his dismissal, Sri Lanka suffered another setback just 14 balls later as Mohammad Nawaz sent back Kusal Perera (six) cheaply in the 11th over.

Mishara, on the other hand, stood his ground firm and was involved in another crucial partnership for Sri Lanka when he knitted a one-sided 57-run stand for the fourth wicket with Janith Liyanage until eventually falling victim to Abrar in the 17th over.

The left-handed opener remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka with a blazing 76 off 48 deliveries, studded with six fours and three sixes.

Liyanage then added valuable runs at the backend for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten run-a-ball 24, while captain Dasun Shanaka played a 17-run cameo, coming off 10 deliveries.

Abrar led Pakistan's bowling charge with economical bowling figures of 2/28 in his four overs, while Nawaz and Salman Mirza chipped in with one apiece.