Sri Lanka captain Dashun Sanaka won the toss and decided to bowl first. Many were surprised, as batting later seemed relatively safe. But Sri Lanka’s goal was clear—not a draw, but to end the tournament with a win. Pakistan captain Salman Agha said toss, they used to ball before! Such a comment by the captain of a team that had to chase runs within certain overs naturally raised questions.

However, Pakistan had a fiery start when they came to bat. Sahibzada Farhan was accompanied by Fakhar Zaman to open the first eleven instead of Saim Ayub. Both played in an aggressive mood from the start. An average of more than 10 runs per over. The Sri Lankan bowlers could not find the line-length, adding to the pressure of poor fielding.

The slower pitch at Pallekal usually favors the spinners, but it didn’t show much effect on this day. Finally in the 16th over, Dushmantha Chameera sent Fakhar back (84). Pakistan were 176 then – it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they reached 220.

But there is the collapse. Even though Farhan scored a century, the middle order batsmen could not take responsibility. Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Khawaja Nafe — none could make the innings big. The first wicket fell for 176 runs, and from there eight wickets fell in just 36 runs. In the end the score stood at 212/8—a fightable but not enough to settle the semi-final equation.

Sri Lanka continued to move quickly in the run chase. As of this writing, their score is 150/5 in 16 overs—enough to dash Pakistan’s last hope.

Early power, middle collapse – this match is a reflection of Pakistan’s tournament campaign. The potential was there, but ultimately it didn’t materialize.