T20 World Cup: Pavan Rathnayake slams his maiden T20I half-century
What's the story
Pavan Rathnayake powered Sri Lanka with his whirlwind knock against Oman in the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Match 16 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Rathnayake hammered a 28-ball 60, taking the Lankans past 130 after they were invited to bat. He added a 94-run stand with Kusal Mendis, who also completed his half-century. The former added the required firepower to SL's innings.
Knock
Rathnayake bolsters SL with his counter-attack
Despite having a solid start, SL were down to 42/2 in the Powerplay. While Kusal Mendis anchored the innings, Rathnayake launched a counter-attack from the onset. The duo took SL past 100, with Rathnayake completing his half-century off just 24 balls. He struck three successive boundaries to reach this mark. Jiten Ramanandi then dismissed the Lankan batter, who struck 8 fours and a six.
Stats
A look at his stats
Rathnayake, who recently slammed his maiden ODI century, raced to his first 50-plus score in T20I cricket. Across five innings, the Lankan middle-order batter has 126 runs at a strike rate of 148.23. It is worth noting that Rathnayake didn't have a 50-plus score in all T20s before this match. This was his 39th T20 appearance.