Imesha Dulani maiden T20I century powers Sri Lanka to comfortable win

Imesha Dulani's unbeaten 101 off 63 balls made her only the second Sri Lankan woman to hit a T20I century, and powered Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win over Pakistan in the opening T20I in Dambulla. Chasing a challenging target of 177, Dulani carried her bat as the hosts reached the target with an over to spare. Asked to bat first, Pakistan got off to a flying start thanks to openers Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar, who scored 64 runs in the Powerplay and 66 runs for the first wicket. Before being run out against the flow of play, Ali struck out 42 times with nine fours off 24 pitches. Zulfiqar continued the charge, bringing up a 41-ball 63 with 10 fours and a six, before adding 61 runs for the second wicket with Eman Naseer. Kavisha Dilhari, Sri Lanka's well-timed 2 for 36, halted Pakistan's momentum as Sri Lanka retook the game. The visitors managed just 49 runs in the final five overs while losing wickets at regular intervals, finishing on 176/7. Dulani and Chamari Athapaththu scored 78 for the first wicket as Sri Lanka started the chase with the same ferocity. Dulani scored 17 fours and a six in a superb innings as he dominated the Powerplay and took advantage of Humna Bilal's bowling. Athapaththu provided solid support with a brisk 39 off 22 balls. Sri Lanka suffered cheap losses to Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama following Athapaththu's dismissal by Nashra Sandhu. However, Dilhari proved to be an additional trustworthy partner for Dulani, scoring 32 runs off 20 balls as the pair added 52 runs in 36 balls to bring Sri Lanka within striking distance of victory. After that, Nilakshika Silva contributed with a quick 9 off 4, but Dulani won the game with the winning runs.