Sunday Feb 15, 2026
Sunday Feb 15, 2026
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The sorry spectacle at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium where the 2nd T20I between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq reporting
from Dambulla
Persistent rain from morning forced the second T20 International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan to be abandoned without a ball bowled at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium yesterday.
The result somewhat gave hope for Sri Lanka to draw the three-match series if they can win the third and final match at the same venue on Sunday.
Coincidentally, on the same day (January 9) in 2007, the Sri Lanka v New Zealand 5th ODI was also abandoned without a toss at Hamilton.
Pakistan took a 1-0 lead when they won the first match by six wickets and yesterday’s rain probably prevented them from taking a winning lead.
Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka never really got going in the first T20I and lost wickets in regular fashion. A forceful 40 from Janith Liyanage did promise them a fighting score, but his dismissal led to a collapse and Sri Lanka slipped from 127-6 to 128 all-out. The paltry total was chased down without much sweat with opener Sahibzada Farhan making a 36-ball 51.
It has become a trend with Sri Lanka’s batting that it seems too reliant on the top order. Especially if Pathum Nissanka fails to give a strong start, the middle order lacks the ability to recover and finish well.
Many players have been tried out in the middle order to stop the rot, but nothing seems to have worked right. Whether it’s a personal one, one cannot be sure.
Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka lamented losing the toss that allowed Pakistan bowlers to make full use of a two-paced pitch to put the skids under the Lankan batters.
Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson described the win as a near-perfect game because they dropped a couple of catches in the field. Apart from that Pakistan’s team effort pleased the coach.
Both teams are using the series to finalise their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup next month. Pakistan who plays all their matches in Sri Lanka came here to get used to the pitches, but unfortunately for them the intermittent showers have not allowed the curators to prepare pitches which are usually found in Sri Lanka. Most of the time the pitches prepared for this series have been under covers.
Sri Lanka’s work has been cut out as they were looking to use the series to finalise their 15 for the World Cup and have that squad play against England in the three-match T20I series starting later this month.
The first match against Pakistan was hardly a help for the national selectors to get the combinations right. Their one hope is the third and final game on Sunday for which they will be at the mercy of the weather gods.
