A new-look Pakistan side created history with their series-clinching victory over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Sunday. Young left-hander Maaz Sadaqat was the hero with a superb innings of 96 as Pakistan amassed a massive score of 215/3. A mature bowling performance then helped restrict Sri Lanka to just 133/7 in reply.
It was the highest team total Pakistan have posted in men’s T20Is on home soil. It is also their second-best overall, behind only the 232/6 they managed against England in Nottingham in 2021.
Pakistan’s 13 sixes were also the equal second-most they have hit in any individual men’s T20I. They are just two short of their overall best of 15, set against Ireland in Dublin in 2024.
A promising outlook under Farhan
The result bodes well for the new-look side under the captaincy of Sahibzada Farhan. Pakistan’s next group of stars showed plenty of positive signs despite the absence of experienced players such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan.
“It’s a good win and we are shaping up well,” Farhan said after the match.
“We have been a different T20I side in 2026 as our six-hitting ratio has improved and our batters are scoring at more than 150. If we continue this way we will end up scoring more than 200 every time, so we will play with the same intensity.”
Farhan also rewrote the record books at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where he scored 383 runs, the most by any player in the tournament’s men’s history. In this match, he contributed 73 runs at the top of the order. He put on 55 for the first wicket with Fakhar Zaman (22), before a stand of 88 with Sadaqat as the hosts kept scoring freely.
Sadaqat’s eye-catching innings
For Sadaqat, it was an eye-catching performance in just his 10th international appearance. The 21-year-old cleared the rope on seven occasions. He was dismissed only on the final ball of Pakistan’s innings, while attempting to reach his hundred.
It was his second consecutive half-century, following his innings of 50 in the series opener, and the left-hander knows he is in good touch.
“I was trying to make the most of my form,” Sadaqat said.
“I had belief in myself that I can hit the ball… I play with positive intent and pick my balls to hit boundaries.”
Sri Lanka’s struggles with the bat
Only four Sri Lanka batters managed to reach double figures during the run chase. Skipper Kusal Mendis was left disappointed with the efforts of his batting group.
“Batters need to take responsibility including me,” Mendis said.
“It was a batting pitch and we needed to score 200 runs at least… we have done well in terms of fielding in the last few tournaments but unfortunately we have not been up to the mark in the last two matches.”
Series summary
The first T20I, played on October 9 in Rawalpindi, went to Pakistan by four wickets. Pakistan won the second T20I, also in Rawalpindi on October 11, by 82 runs. The third T20I is scheduled for October 13 in Rawalpindi.
