An unbeaten 39* from Shahid Afridi earned Pakistan a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Dubai on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka struggled early in their innings after being asked to bat first, but Angelo Mathews scored a fluent 50 from 34 deliveries to help his team to 145-5.

Lahiru Thirimanne provided good support for Mathews by striking an unbeaten 23 late in the innings.

Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Hafeez both passed 30 for Pakistan in reply but their departures saw the run-rate slip and Sri Lanka took advantage to reduce their opponents to 96-5.

However, Afridi managed to keep his cool while regular wickets continued to fall and he hit a six in the final over of the match to secure the win for his team.