Sahibzada Farhan scored 76. The new captain gave Pakistan the platform they needed. Arafat Minhas hit 34 not out in the final three overs to push the total to 168. And then Sri Lanka chased 169 in 17.1 overs without breaking a sweat. But none of that mattered in the context of the three-match series. Pakistan had already done enough. The first T20I series of Farhan’s captaincy era ends with a trophy in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Win T20I Series 2-1
Pakistan won the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka 2-1. Pakistan won the first T20I by four wickets in Rawalpindi with Farhan scoring 89 off 53 and Maaz Sadaqat making 50. Pakistan won the second T20I by a margin that confirmed the series lead. Sri Lanka won the third and final match in Rawalpindi to take consolation. The series result stands as a 2-1 victory for the home side.
How Sri Lanka Won the Third Match
Pakistan posted 168 for 8 from their 20 overs. The innings was defined by two contrasting phases. Farhan batted brilliantly for 76 off 47 balls, hitting seven fours and three sixes before being caught at mid-on off Nuwan Thushara in the final over. But wickets fell around him consistently. Fakhar Zaman departed at 34 for 1. Sadaqat fell at the very next ball for zero. The top order collapsed leaving Farhan to rebuild almost entirely alone.
Arafat Minhas was the one who joined Farhan and played with genuine freedom. His 34 not out off 20 balls with two fours and two sixes rescued Pakistan from what might have been a total below 150. But 168 was never going to be enough on a Rawalpindi surface that had already proven itself flat and batting-friendly across the first two matches of the series.
Sri Lanka chased 169 in 17.1 overs for the loss of two wickets. Kusal Mendis was the architect of everything that happened. He scored 87 not out off 48 balls with nine fours and four sixes. His unbroken partnership of 98 with Kamindu Mendis took Sri Lanka home with 17 balls remaining. Kamindu finished on 40 not out off 27 balls. Pakistan’s bowling had no answers for either batter once Sineth Jayawardena was removed at 74 for 2 in the eighth over.
Farhan’s Series Assessment: A Captain’s Beginning
Farhan scored 89, 50-plus, and 76 across the three T20Is as captain. His series batting tally was extraordinary. He took every opportunity to lead with the bat exactly as his selection for the captaincy demanded.
His batting across the three matches demonstrated exactly the strike rate and intent that had made him the highest scorer at the 2026 T20 World Cup earlier this year. He attacked from ball one in every innings. He built partnerships when wickets fell.
He carried Pakistan past competitive totals in two out of three matches. A captain who scores that consistently in their first bilateral series at home does not need to be assessed harshly because his team lost a dead rubber final match.
The series result is 2-1. The batting performances are the foundation his captaincy will build on. His record as a leader and how this series sits in the broader story of Pakistan’s T20I leadership evolution is explored in our piece on Pakistan cricket team captaincy past and future.
Dasun Shanaka: The Match-Winner for Sri Lanka
While Kusal Mendis took the batting honours in the third match, the bowling performance that gave Sri Lanka the victory deserved equal recognition. Dasun Shanaka took 3 for 21 from his four overs. He dismissed Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Imran, and Abdul Samad in quick succession to break Pakistan’s middle order completely in the 9th to 14th over phase.
That bowling spell reduced Pakistan from 67 for 3 in the eighth over to 86 for 5 in the 11th. The collapse was the difference between a 180-plus total and the 168 that Sri Lanka chased comfortably. Shanaka’s economy of 5.25 was the most disciplined bowling figure in the match by any bowler on either side. His three wickets changed the entire character of Pakistan’s innings in the space of four overs.
Kusal Mendis: A Series Ending Statement
Kusal Mendis’ captaincy innings in the third T20I was the best individual batting performance of the entire series. Eighty-seven not out off 48 balls at a strike rate of 181.25 against a full Pakistan home attack in Rawalpindi is the kind of performance that changes a series narrative.
Sri Lanka were 2-0 down in the series when they arrived at the third match. They won it convincingly with bat and ball. Mendis’ century-level innings, 17 runs short of three figures, was a statement about what Sri Lanka’s T20I batting can produce when conditions suit. Kamindu Mendis’ unbeaten 40 alongside him showed that the batting depth extends well beyond the captain.
What Pakistan’s Bowling Revealed
Pakistan’s bowling in the third match was expensive throughout. Salman Mirza conceded 40 from three overs without a wicket. Razaullah conceded 37 from 3.1 overs. Sufiyan Moqim went for 35 from four without a wicket. Only Mohammad Imran, who has been the standout bowling discovery of this series since his debut in the first match, produced controlled figures of 1 for 31 from four overs.
The bowling is the area where Pakistan’s new T20I setup clearly needs the most development. Farhan’s captaincy decisions with the ball in hand will be tested more severely as the competition quality increases. Against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, the flat surface made bowling difficult. Against stronger batting lineups in ICC tournament conditions, that same bowling group will need to find more control and more wicket-taking variety than they showed in the third match.
The T20 World Cup Legacy Players Still Doing the Work
Two of Pakistan’s most impressive performers across this entire series have been players whose reputations were built at the 2026 T20 World Cup and in the Asian Games earlier this year.
Maaz Sadaqat contributed with bat and with his presence at the top of the order across all three matches. Arafat Minhas took wickets in the first two matches and rescued Pakistan’s total in the third with his 34 not out.
Neither player was a household name twelve months ago. Both are now regular contributors in Pakistan’s T20I eleven. The tradition of Pakistan cricket discovering match-winning talent from unexpected sources and building international players through domestic and franchise cricket experience is explored in our piece on the best cricket players in Pakistan cricket history.
What Comes Next for Pakistan’s T20I Program
The T20I series result of 2-1 gives Pakistan the platform to continue building under Farhan’s leadership. The ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka and England starts in Rawalpindi on October 18. That is four days away. Both teams turn their attention to the 50-over format immediately.
The ODI assignments carry far greater significance for both sides. Pakistan have Shaheen Shah Afridi returning as ODI captain. Babar Azam is back in the ODI squad. The T20I group that won this series gives way to the more experienced personnel for the 50-over competition.
What Farhan’s T20I squad proved across this series is that Pakistan’s next generation of white-ball cricketers is ready to compete and win at home. The ODI series will test a completely different set of players against the same Sri Lanka and a full England touring party.
Conclusion
Pakistan won the T20I series against Sri Lanka 2-1. Farhan led from the front across all three matches with the bat. Sri Lanka won the third match convincingly through Kusal Mendis’ 87 not out and Dasun Shanaka’s three wickets. The series result stands as a 2-1 Pakistan win. Farhan’s captaincy debut in a bilateral home series ended with a trophy. The ODI tri-series starts October 18. The Rawalpindi pitch that was so kind to batters across three T20I nights now prepares itself for a different kind of cricket.
