Pakistan sealed the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka with a game to spare, crushing the visitors by 82 runs in the second T20I at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday night. Chasing an imposing 216, Sri Lanka never found momentum and finished on 133 for 7, giving Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead. It was a complete performance from the hosts, built on a blistering 96 from Maaz Sadaqat, a fluent half-century from new captain Sahibzada Farhan, and a miserly spell from debutant Imran Randhawa.
Maaz and Farhan power Pakistan to record 215-3
Put in to bat under the Rawalpindi floodlights, Pakistan recovered from a slow start to post 215 for 3, the highest T20I total the team has ever made on home soil. The turnaround was engineered by Maaz Sadaqat and captain Sahibzada Farhan, who added 88 runs for the second wicket and then took the Sri Lankan attack apart in the second half of the innings.
Maaz, playing only his second T20I after a half-century on debut in the series opener on Friday, fell just four runs short of a maiden international hundred, dismissed off the final ball of the innings for 96 off 51 deliveries. His innings included six fours and seven sixes, with a burst of three maximums in Maheesh Theekshana’s final over. He reached his half-century off 29 balls and could have fallen earlier, surviving a dropped catch by Nuwan Thushara when on 44.
Farhan, leading the T20I side in his new role as captain, made a fluent 73 off 44 balls with four fours and five sixes before falling in the 15th over. Fakhar Zaman contributed 22 off 17 balls before Theekshana removed him in the seventh over, while Hasan Nawaz added an unbeaten 19 off nine balls as Pakistan plundered 70 runs in the last five overs to cross 200 with room to spare.
Imran leads a clinical bowling display
Sri Lanka’s chase of 216 never got going. Salman Mirza struck in the first over, removing opener Lahiru Udara for five, and Imran Randhawa then dismantled the top order. Imran, also playing only his second T20I, dismissed Sineth Jayawardena and captain Kusal Mendis, who managed just nine, as the visitors slumped to 74 for 6 after 11.5 overs.
Chamindu Wickramasinghe (29 off 24) and Maheesh Theekshana added 50 for the seventh wicket, but the partnership only delayed the inevitable. Theekshana finished unbeaten on 32 off 26 balls after Wickramasinghe fell in the penultimate over. Imran finished with outstanding figures of 3 for 11 from four overs, Salman Mirza took two wickets, and Saim Ayub and Shadab Khan claimed one each as Sri Lanka closed on 133 for 7.
First T20I series win over Sri Lanka in nine years
The victory carries extra weight: it is Pakistan’s first T20I series win over Sri Lanka in nine years, and it was achieved with a match to spare at a venue where Pakistan set a new home record. It caps a positive sporting run for the country, which follows a more difficult spell for Pakistan’s other national sides, including Pakistan’s withdrawal from the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in Bangladesh after security and logistical concerns forced the team out of the event.
The series win also comes at a time when Pakistan cricket has been making headlines off the field, with Sri Lanka Cricket urging Pakistan to reconsider its boycott of the India match ahead of the upcoming global tournament. On the field, though, the focus will now shift to finishing the job in style in the third and final T20I.
Third T20I in Rawalpindi on October 13
The third and final T20I will be played on October 13 at the same Rawalpindi venue, where Pakistan will look to complete a 3-0 whitewash. Speaking after the match, Farhan said the team had become a different T20I side in 2026, with improved six-hitting and scoring rate, and vowed that Pakistan would carry the same intensity into the final game. Maaz Sadaqat was named Player of the Match for his match-defining 96. For more results and build-up, follow PakMirror’s sports news coverage.
