Shahid Afridi rescued a limp Pakistan innings from despair and built his team a middling total with an aggressive half-century that was pragmatically constructed.

He then proceeded to tenaciously defend his hard work, and by the time he was through with his spell, Sri Lanka had severely depleted resources to complete an arduous task.

The upshot was that Pakistan left Hambantota with the series level at 1-1, and Afridi with his seventh Player-of-the-Match award, a Twenty20 record.

The second T20 played out in a manner remarkably similar to the first, two days ago, only with roles reversed.