Lahiru Udara struck a blistering 91 to propel Sri Lanka to 182-8 after they won the toss in the opening match of the three-game Twenty20 International series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday. The right-hander smashed 11 fours and a six in his 55-ball knock to revive the innings after an early wobble, while Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah claimed three wickets despite an expensive spell. Sri Lanka reached 52-2 in the powerplay as debutant Imran Randhawa and Naseem struck early. The momentum shifted immediately after the fielding restrictions were lifted, however, with Kamindu Mendis and Udara taking 14 runs off Shadab Khan’s first over. The pair brought up their 50-run stand off just 33 balls in the following over, with Kamindu reverse-sweeping spinner Abrar Ahmed for four. Kamindu fell just before the halfway mark, lured into a false shot by Saim Ayub and caught comfortably by Fakhar Zaman at long-off. Two balls later, Sahan Arachchige departed for a duck after Shadab pulled off a superb catch at point off Imran, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 83-4. Undeterred by the wickets at the other end, Udara brought up his maiden T20I half-century off 32 balls in the 12th over. He followed it with a sweep for four and added three more on the next delivery to take Sri Lanka past the 100-run mark. Udara continued to attack, making room to drive Abrar through the covers for another boundary as Sri Lanka looked to rebuild their innings. Dasun Shanaka provided further impetus with a six, helped over the boundary by Hasan Nawaz’s unsuccessful attempt to complete the catch. Udara then cleared the ropes against debutant Razaullah, whose introduction to international cricket proved a difficult one. Shanaka struck another six off Shadab in the 16th over but fell later in the same over after mistiming a shot. Pakistan had an opportunity to remove Udara on 77 when he skied an attempted hit against Abrar, only for the spinner to misjudge the high ball and hand the batter a reprieve. Naseem subsequently bowled Dunith Wellalage, but Udara responded with a ramp shot for four before his innings ended on 91, caught by Hasan at long-on as he attempted another big hit, nine short of a maiden T20I century. In the final over, Razaullah claimed his maiden T20I wicket by bouncing out Maheesh Theekshana. Dushmantha Chameera, however, struck the innings’ final boundary off a free hit as Sri Lanka finished on 182-8.