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 hosts then restricted 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. It is also their second best overall, behind 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 performance 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 and Sadaqat lead the way
Pakistan’s top-order batter Sahibzada Farhan, who rewrote the record books with his 383 runs at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, made 73 of his own 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.
For Sadaqat, it was an eye-catching performance with the bat 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, while 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 left searching for answers
Only four Sri Lanka batters managed to score in 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 so far
Pakistan won the first T20I on October 9 in Rawalpindi by four wickets. They then won the second match on October 11, also in Rawalpindi, by 82 runs. The third T20I takes place on October 13, again in Rawalpindi.