Lanka stun Pak by 35 runs, seal series 2-0

Lahore, October 7

Sri Lanka stunned Pakistan by 35 runs in the second T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. 

After winning the first match by 64 runs, Sri Lanka, a team largely devoid of their regular players with most of them refusing to tour Pakistan, condemned the top-ranked T20 team in the world to a series defeat at home. 

Batting first, the visitors were buoyed by Bhanuka Rajapaksha's 77 off 48 balls, and his 94-run stand with Shehan Jayasuriya (34 off 28 balls) as the island nation set Pakistan a target of 183. Pakistan's top-order failed to fire with Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed back in the hut within the first eight overs with just 52 runs on board. 

Brief scores: Sri Lanka: 182/6 in 20 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksha 77, Shehan Jayasuriya 34; Imad Wasim 1/27); Pakistan: 147 all out in 19 over (Imad Wasim 47, Asif Ali 29; Nuwan Pradeep 4/25, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/38)  — IANS

Umpire dies on field in Pakistan 

Karachi: A local umpire, who was a popular figure in the cricket circles, died after collapsing on a cricket ground while supervising a club-level match. Naseem Sheikh suffered a heart attack while standing in a match of a lawyers' tournament at the TMC ground and was rushed to hospital. "He fell down while supervising the match. He was rushed in a ambulance to a nearby hospital but expired on the way," the organiser said. Sheikh, who was 56, was a butcher by profession but his love for the game had led him to become a qualified umpire. — PTI