New captain Farhan hits half-century to inspire Pakistan to T20 win over Sri Lanka

[p]Farhan, appointed captain last month, smacked 89 off 53 balls with 10 fours and four sixes, guiding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pakistan/tS3K91g9/"]Pakistan[/a] to their target of 183 in 18.5 overs.[/p][p]The win gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sri-lanka/zahH5UHg/"]Sri Lanka[/a] posted 182-8 as opener Lahiru Udara struck 91 off 55 balls after the tourists won the toss and batted.[/p][p]Farhan and Fakhar Zaman got the hosts off to a rollicking start of 54-0 in five overs as Sri Lanka's attack failed to stop the flow of runs, with Zaman scoring 21 off 13.[/p][embed guid="d5192f3e-353d-44ba-a99f-3c9bfa203499" url="https://x.com/TheRealPCB/status/2108601664177631687" social-type="twitter" /][p]Maaz Sadaqat kept the momentum flowing as he hit three sixes and four fours in a brisk 50, adding 92 runs with his skipper to lead Pakistan to within sight of victory.[/p][p]Pakistan lost Hasaz Nawaz and Saim Ayub cheaply before Farhan was caught in the deep, but it did not derail their chase.[/p][p]Earlier, Udara hit the highest T20 score by a Sri Lankan against Pakistan, improving upon Kusal Perera's 84 in Dubai in 2013.[/p][p]Udara added 60 runs for the third wicket with Kamindu Mendis (23) after a poor start saw captain Kusal Mendis dismissed for one and Kamil Mishara depart for six, helping the team recover from 18-2.[/p][p]Dasun Shanaka offered brief support as he and Udara added 57 for the fifth wicket, with Sri Lanka taking 66 runs off the last six overs.[/p][p]Fast bowler Naseem Shah grabbed 3-36 for Pakistan, while debutant Mohammad Imran took 2-21.[/p][p]The remaining two matches are on Sunday and Tuesday, both in Rawalpindi.[/p]