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. It is also 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 struck 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 for Pakistan
The performance bodes well for the new-look side under the captaincy of Sahibzada Farhan. The next generation of Pakistan 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 has already rewritten the record books this year. He scored 383 runs in the 2026 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the most runs by any player in the tournament’s men’s history.
Farhan and Sadaqat set the tone
Farhan contributed 73 runs at the top of the order. He 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 in just his 10th international appearance. The 21-year-old cleared the rope on seven occasions. He was dismissed 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 fall short in the chase
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 series opened on October 9 in Rawalpindi, where Pakistan won by four wickets. Pakistan won the second T20I on October 11 in Rawalpindi by 82 runs. The third T20I was played in Rawalpindi on October 13.