In the first T20 World Cup match between these two countries in ten years, Pakistan's spinners locked down Sri Lanka on a slow track at Sharjah after Fatima Sana made a helpful cameo down the order. Pakistan won convincingly by 31 runs. 

After Chamari Athapaththu fell early in the chase, Pakistan, who had chosen to bat first, struggled and could not establish any momentum with the bat, eventually being bowled out for 116 runs but still managing to keep Sri Lanka at bay.

Even though fast bowler Diana Baig was lost to an apparent calf injury early in the target defense, Fatima Sana's decision to bat was questioned. Still, the Pakistan captain was vindicated when Sharjah saw little to no dew in the second innings, allowing her spinners to hold sway.

Athapaththu, incidentally, was happy to pursue and had even set his sights on limiting Pakistan to less than 120. Her side made up ground on that count with a strong bowling effort, and Sana delivered the game-winning blow right at the finish. 

Pakistan attempted to push hard during the fielding restrictions, which is true of their recent style, but they were continually held back, with wickets falling at regular intervals.

With the final delivery of the second over, Sugandika Kumari struck, mainly because Anushka Sanjeewani made a brilliant catch behind the stumps to remove Gull Feroza.

Muneeba Ali became the second batter to fall to Sugandika after hitting a six off left-arm medium-pacer Udeshika Prabodhani. This time, Muneeba gained a significant advantage on an attempted cut to an arm delivery from the left-arm spinner. 

However, Sanjeewani, behind the stumps, held on to a challenging catch anyway. After forcing Sidra Amin to misjudge an attempted slog, Athapaththu completed a return catch to put Pakistan down three for 32 inside the PowerPlay.

With a solid 25-run partnership, Nida Dar and Omaima Sohail attempted to straighten the innings. Still, just as Pakistan started to feel optimistic about increasing the scoring pace, they were shut down again. BetPro Exchange app users were likely disappointed as the momentum shifted.

After being slog-sweep for six earlier in the over, Kavisha Dilhari bowled Omaina a floaty ball. However, Omaina played the sweep stroke too early and toe-edged a catch to square leg.

After that, Prabodhani returned to the attack and used a change-up around the wicket angle to easily dismiss Dar for 23. The following over saw Athpaththu dismiss Tuba Hassan and Aliya Riaz off consecutive balls in the 14th over; the former was caught again superbly behind the stumps, while the latter was given an easy leg before wicket.

Pakistan was 74 for 7, and soon it was 84 for 8, and it did not look like they would even reach 100. However, Captain Sana and Nashra Sandhu put up a strong rearguard. Of the 28 runs the ninth-wicket combination added, Sandhu scored just four out of 12 balls. 

On the other hand, Sana skillfully farmed a strike and hit three fours and a six before giving up a 20-ball 30 to the first ball of the last over. Pakistan could only muster four more singles before being bowled out on the final ball of the innings.

After the first ball in the second innings, Pakistan lost Baig to injury, but their captain again stood up and left his mark. After bowling two length balls, Sana delivered a heavier delivery, which allowed her opposite number, Athapaththu, to chip a catch to extra cover. 

After taking over, Omaima administered a twin blow, dismissing Hasini Perera and the highly effective Harshitha Samarawickrama, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 35 for 3. The second dismissal was a joy for the off-spinner.

After veering into the left-handed Perera, it spun past the bat and struck the top of the off-stump after a 4.7-degree turn.

Sri Lanka's batters could not drive the tempo, as Sandhu added two of her wickets, and Sadia Iqbal claimed three lower-order wickets. As the match drew to a predictable and dull end, Sri Lanka only managed three boundaries during their innings and none after the eighth over.

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Brief scores: Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka 85/9 in 20 overs (Sadia Iqbal 3-17, Fatima Sana 2-10, Nashra Sandhu 2-15) by 31 runs with 116 in 20 overs (Fatima Sana 30; Chamari Athapaththu 3-18, Sugandika Kumari 3-19, Udeshika Prabodhani 3-20).