Pathum Nissanka breaks massive T20I record with gritty half-century against Hong Kong in Asia Cup
The Sri Lanka batter played a brilliant knock of 68 runs against Hong Kong and played a major role in his side's victory
Sri Lanka batter Pathum Nissanka continued his brilliant form in the shortest format and played a crucial knock of 68 runs against Hong Kong in Asia Cup 2025. This knock carried the Lankan Lions to a 4-wicket win in what was their second match of the tournament.
Nissanka's inning of 68 included 6 boundaries and 2 sixes and played a key role in Sri Lanka chasing down the 150-run target. Though wickets kept falling at regular intervals on the other end, Nissanka didn't let the Hong Kong bowlers get his wicket easily. He eventually lost his wicket through a run-out by Yasim Murtaza.
Notably, this was Nissanka's 17th fifty-plus score in the shortest format, which saw him overtake both Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis to become the Sri Lankan player with the most fifty-plus scores in T20Is. This proves how important the 27-year-old has been for the Lankan Lions ever since his T20I debut in 2021.
Here is a list of most 50+ scores for Sri Lanka in T20Is -
1. Pathum Nissanka - 17 scores
2. Kusal Perera - 16 scores
3. Kusal Mendis - 16 scores
4. Tillakaratne Dilshan - 14 scores
5. Mahela Jayawardene - 10 scores
Nissanka had also played a robust knock of 50 runs in Sri Lanka's Asia Cup opener against rivals Bangladesh. This inning would again turn out to be quite important for the Lankan Lions as they successfully chased down the target of 140 and won the match by 6 wickets.
Meanwhile, Nissanka has so far played a total of 70 T20Is for Sri Lanka in his career, scoring 2068 runs. He has scored 17 fifties so far in the shortest format and has maintained a decent strike-rate of 124.42. His highest individual score in the format is 90.
