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 from the Asian side then helped restrict Sri Lanka to just 133/7 in reply.
It was the highest team score Pakistan have put together in men’s T20Is on home soil and their second best overall, behind only the 232/6 they managed against England in Nottingham in 2021.
The 13 sixes Pakistan hit were also the equal second most they have managed in any individual men’s T20I. They are just two behind their overall best of 15, set against Ireland in Dublin in 2024.
A promising new era
The win bodes well for the new-look side under the captaincy of Sahibzada Farhan. Pakistan’s next generation 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, a top-order batter, rewrote the record books at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where he scored 383 runs. That is now the most runs by any player in the Men’s T20 World Cup. In Rawalpindi, he made 73 at the top of the order. The right-hander put on 55 for the first wicket alongside Fakhar Zaman (22), before a stand of 88 with Sadaqat as the hosts continued to score at will.
Sadaqat’s breakthrough summer
It was an eye-catching performance with the bat for Sadaqat in just his 10th international appearance. The 21-year-old cleared the rope on seven occasions and was dismissed only on the final ball of Pakistan’s innings, when attempting to reach his hundred.
It was a second consecutive half-century for Sadaqat, 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
Only four Sri Lanka batters reached double figures during the run chase, and 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
- First T20I: 9 October, Rawalpindi (Pakistan won by four wickets)
- Second T20I: 11 October, Rawalpindi (Pakistan won by 82 runs)
- Third T20I: 13 October, Rawalpindi
