full ball, hits him flush on the pads: great change of line and length, and the batter misses once again. Or does he? The umpire remains stoic after the bowler appeals. After an entire match with no reviews taken, they take one off the final ball. But the ball is going down the leg, impact is umpire's call too. Malinga will be satisfied enough, however, after a long but fruitful over for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd T20I at Dambulla, SL vs PAK, Jan 11 2026 - Match Result
RESULT
3rd T20I (N), Dambulla, January 11, 2026, Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka
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Scores: Chetan Kumar | Comms: Abhijato (@ob_jato)Scorecard summary
Sri Lanka • 160/6(12 overs)
34 (9)
3/54 (3)
30 (16)
1/8 (1)
Pakistan • 146/8(12 overs)
45 (12)
4/35 (3)
28 (15)
2/34 (3)
Cricinfo's Most Valuable Players of the Match
end of over 125 runs • 1 wicket
PAK: 146/8CRR: 12.16
Mohammad Wasim7 (8b 1x6)
Naseem Shah1 (1b)
Eshan Malinga 2-0-27-1
Matheesha Pathirana 3-0-34-2
12.10am After wonderful cricket today, it is only fair that the series ends in a draw. The frustration during the rain turned out to be more than worth it. On behalf of Danyal, and our scorer Chetan, this is Abhijato - signing off.
I will leave the last word with Shoaib Hunjra, who makes a sparse, eloquent point to sum it all up: "What a match we have seen".
12am It is midnight now, and the presentations are underway after a short match that felt like it went on forever - in the best way possible.
Wanindu Hasaranga walks up to collect the Player of the Match award. He's walking away but gets called back to collect the Player of the Series trophy too. Now, he speaks: "It was a hard game. The pitch had bite and was slow... Feeling good [about the upcoming T20 World Cup]. We have three more games before the World Cup, so want to get more preparation in."
Salman Ali Agha, who played a great knock but ends up as the captain of the losing side: "It was a great game. We gave away too many with the ball, but the batting was great. Fielding needs to be great. The way the batting unit went to it, the game could have gone either way... With the ball, we need to be better in the death overs."
Here's Wanindu Hasaranga, Player of the Match: "It''s a great win. Thanks to the ground staff for putting a game on. The crowd too, for expecting a game while it is raining. We weren't after a score, the other batters read the pitch and we wanted stability upfront. Everyone played their part. [Is this the role he wants to play more often?] Very happy about my performance. If I can get going, every team member can play their own roles. Even in practices, I was hitting it well. So, today was a good day to showcase it."
11.50pm Sri Lanka tie the series 1-1, and have plenty of positives to take away from a strong comeback win after their loss in the first T20I. What a match we've had today: on a difficult surface, mitigated by a wet outfield, both sides were evenly matched right up till the end. Hasaranga was the pick of the ball with his spell of 4 for 35, and mitigated the damage done by a blistering cameo from Salman Agha. He played an atypical knock, racing away to 45 off 11 before falling to Pathirana. Pakistan never recovered, and Pathirana's pitch-perfect final over, soon after, sealed the win for Sri Lanka.
Hamza: "9-ball 34 trumps 12-ball 45" - The two captains, Shanaka and Agha, were the pick of the batters for each side respectively. In the end, Shanaka's team was propped up better by the smaller cameos around him, and that made all the difference between the two sides.
11.6
•
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, no run
11.6
1w
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, 1 wide
The batter moves to the off side, deep to the off side, in fact. The bowler follows him and though the ball is outside the wide lines, the umpire deems the batter has moved enough for it to not be another wide
11.5
•
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, no run
Again: it's wide, Wasim swings for the hills, never looking like he would make a connection. The ball stays low, dying after being pitched short
11.4
•
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, no run
Swing and a miss: identical shot, but the ball itself is short but inside the line. Sri Lanka has made a great comeback after Agha's assault, and after that big loss in the first T20I. Let's see how they finish it off now
11.4
1w
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, 1 wide
Shorter, seaming away despite already landing outside off. They just need one dot to seal the contest but the nerves are rising
11.4
1w
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, 1 wide
Keeps it short but bowls it quite wide. He's persisting with the line and he's penalised with another wide. The game is still alive
11.3
•
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, no run
Slower one, moving in, also bowled fuller and closer to the stumps. He swings through and swivels at it but with no balance. Great bowling, and not good enough hitting
11.3
1w
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, 1 wide
Swing and a miss. The ball is quite low, bowled short, but goes past the wide margin. The umpire calls it a wide and that helps a little for the batters. Will the bowler begin to sweat? 18 off 4.
11.2
1
Malinga to Naseem Shah, 1 run
He goes for it, as he has to. Quite wide and he has to shift towards it, then pull across the line of a full ball and get it to long on. Just a single, and the equation gets more implausible for Pakistan
Naseem Shah at the crease. He can hit a long ball.
11.1
W
Malinga to Mohammad Wasim, OUT
Malinga keeps it wide and full. The batter does not make a connection. They attempt a bye. Mendis underhands the ball and hits the target. The third umpire just has to look once - the non-striker, Ashraf, was miles away from the crease by the time the stumps were broken
Faheem Ashraf run out (†Mendis) 9 (3b 2x4 0x6 12m) SR: 300
20 off the final over. Sri Lanka are favourites, but crazy things have happened in this match already...
end of over 1110 runs • 1 wicket
PAK: 141/7CRR: 12.81 • RRR: 20.00 • Need 20 from 6b
Mohammad Wasim7 (3b 1x6)
Faheem Ashraf9 (3b 2x4)
Matheesha Pathirana 3-0-34-2
Wanindu Hasaranga 3-0-35-4
10.6
1
Pathirana to Mohammad Wasim, 1 run
On fifth stump once again but it's just so full. The ball goes to long on and it doesn't have enough power on it to do much more than a single.
10.5
6
Pathirana to Mohammad Wasim, SIX runs
Too full, finally makes a small error: ball arrives on fourth stump and he swings straight down the ground. Clean connection, deep into the crease. Long off and long on converge but the ball sails over them
10.5
1w
Pathirana to Mohammad Wasim, 1 wide
Same ball. The batter reaches for it and cannot get connection on it. But the umpire thinks this one's a little too wide
10.4
•
Pathirana to Mohammad Wasim, no run
Brilliant death overs exhibition here. Perfect yorker, right on the wideline. Good execution, and his action means the batter is never too sure about the angle of the ball as it lands on the pitch
10.3
W
Pathirana to Nawaz, OUT
Malinga looks on from the edge of the field and he'd be proud of him with that one - gives no rooms for the batter to free his arms. Perfect length, short of a yorker, rolled his fingers over the ball. Nawaz misses the ball completely. Good knock for him but not quite enough. Sri Lanka will sense they are ascending in this contest...
Mohammad Nawaz b Pathirana 28 (15b 2x4 2x6 33m) SR: 186.66
10.2
1
Pathirana to Faheem, 1 run
On the pads. He flicks it but with not enough power, he does not get the ball under his bat. The deep midwicket fielder collects it
Both batters are lefties. Kusal Mendis leading the field since Shanaka took a blow to his fingers while fielding...
10.1
1
Pathirana to Nawaz, 1 run
He pitches it just short of a yorker, and the batter hits it to cover. The fielder fumbles and the captain is not happy as they sneak in a single
A lot depends on this over, with 30 needed off 12...
end of over 1015 runs • 2 wickets
PAK: 131/6CRR: 13.10 • RRR: 15.00 • Need 30 from 12b
Faheem Ashraf8 (2b 2x4)
Mohammad Nawaz27 (13b 2x4 2x6)
Wanindu Hasaranga 3-0-35-4
Matheesha Pathirana 2-0-24-1
9.6
4
Hasaranga to Faheem, FOUR runs
Steps away and hits it down the ground. The shorter length might spin the ball more, but it gives the batter more time to penetrate the gap right down the middle
9.5
4
Hasaranga to Faheem, FOUR runs
Lands on middle stump but it is short and slow, so the spin away from the batter is quite extravagant. He swivels and gets it past the deep midwicket over
9.4
W
Hasaranga to Shadab, OUT
Hasaranga's showing who's king of this pitch. He mimics the KL Rahul celebration, just like Rickelton did a couple of days ago, by pointing aggressively at the ground. The ball was similar enough, but a similar change in pace, a little more spin, and the arc of the bat only took the ball to the hands of deep square-leg
Shadab Khan c Malinga b Hasaranga 6 (3b 0x4 1x6 2m) SR: 200
Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
PAK
45 runs (12)
5 fours3 sixes
Productive shot
sweep shot
14 runs
2 fours1 six
Control
69%
34 runs (9)
0 four5 sixes
Productive shot
slog shot
12 runs
0 four2 sixes
Control
78%
Best performances - bowlers
O
3
M
0
R
35
W
4
ECO
11.66
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
LEGOFF
LHB
1W | ||||
O
3
M
0
R
54
W
3
ECO
18
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
1W | ||||
1W |
LEGOFF
LHB
1W | ||||
Match details
| Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium | |
| Toss | Pakistan, elected to field first |
| Series | |
| Season | 2025/26 |
| Player Of The Match | |
| Player Of The Series | |
| Series result | 3-match series drawn 1-1 |
| Match number | T20I no. 3661 |
| Hours of play (local time) | 19.00 start, First Session 19.00-20.30, Interval 20.30-20.50, Second Session 20.50-22.20 |
| Match days | 11 January 2026 - night (20-over match) |
| T20I debut | |
| Umpires | |
| TV Umpire | |
| Reserve Umpire | |
| Match Referee | |
Language
English
Win Probability
SL 100%
SLPAK100%50%100%
Over 12 • PAK 146/8
Faheem Ashraf run out (†Mendis) 9 (3b 2x4 0x6 12m) SR: 300
Sri Lanka won by 14 runsW
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