Pakistan Seal Sri Lanka T20 Series With Record Home Total and 82 Run Win

Pakistan take the series with a game to spare

Pakistan scored 215 for three, their highest total in a Twenty20 international at home, before Mohammad Imran took three wickets for 11 runs to secure an 82 run victory over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Sunday, October 11, 2026. The result gave the hosts an unbeatable 2-0 lead ahead of the final match on October 13.

Maaz Sadaqat led the batting with 96 from 51 balls, while captain Sahibzada Farhan contributed 73 from 44. Both made their second successive half centuries of the series, turning three dropped catches into an innings that surpassed Pakistan's previous home record of 208 for three against West Indies in Karachi in 2021.

The scorecard confirms Sadaqat's 96 from 51 balls and Farhan's 73 from 44, with Farhan caught by Theekshana off Shanaka. Hasan Nawaz finished not out on 19 from nine balls.

Sri Lanka finished on 133 for seven after being set 216 to win. Imran, playing only his second T20 international, broke through the top order with swing bowling as the visitors fell to 49 for four in the eighth over. Their later resistance reduced the damage without bringing the target within reach.

The victory followed Pakistan's successful chase in the opening match and confirmed Sri Lanka's third successive T20 series defeat away from home. They had lost 2-1 in West Indies before suffering a 3-0 defeat against England. Pakistan, meanwhile, won this series through two different routes: chasing confidently on Friday and defending a record home total on Sunday.

How 215 fits into Pakistan's record book

Pakistan's total broke two national benchmarks. It exceeded the previous home best by seven runs and surpassed their highest T20 international score against Sri Lanka, 212 for eight at Pallekele during the 2026 T20 World Cup, by three.

It was also Pakistan's second highest T20 international total anywhere, 17 runs short of the 232 for six they made against England in Nottingham in 2021. Sunday's innings therefore set records for the venue category and the opponent, without replacing the national maximum.

Pakistan scored at 10.75 runs per over across their 20 overs. Their final five overs produced 70 runs, a rate of 14 per over, and accounted for nearly a third of the innings. That closing acceleration turned an already strong platform into a target demanding 10.8 runs per over from Sri Lanka from the outset.

The 82 run margin was also reported as Pakistan's biggest T20 international victory over Sri Lanka. The result reflected more than a large batting total: Pakistan's bowlers held the visitors to 6.65 runs per over, well below the pace required.

Three partnerships kept the innings moving

Fakhar Zaman and Farhan supplied the opening platform with a partnership of 55. Fakhar made 22 from 17 deliveries, including four fours, before Maheesh Theekshana had him caught at long off in the seventh over.

Sadaqat then joined Farhan at No. 3. Their partnership added 88 runs from 49 balls, maintaining the pressure after Sri Lanka's first breakthrough. Farhan struck four fours and five sixes before slicing a delivery from Dasun Shanaka to Theekshana near the boundary in the 15th over.

That dismissal left Pakistan at 143 for two, but Sri Lanka could not slow the innings. Sadaqat and Hasan Nawaz added another 72 from 31 balls for the third wicket. Nawaz finished unbeaten on 19 from nine deliveries, with a four and a six.

The three partnerships show how Pakistan sustained their attack rather than depending on one short burst. The opening stand provided momentum, the second consolidated it, and the third supplied the quickest scoring. Sri Lanka took only three wickets and never forced Pakistan into rebuilding for an extended period.

Dropped catches gave Farhan and Sadaqat room to attack

Sri Lanka had opportunities to interrupt that progression. Farhan was dropped on two and again on 11. Theekshana missed a difficult chance at midwicket off Binura Fernando, before Sineth Jayawardene failed to hold a more straightforward catch.

Farhan went on to score 73, adding 62 runs after the second reprieve. Theekshana eventually caught him off Shanaka, but by then the captain had helped carry Pakistan deep into the innings.

Sadaqat also survived a chance on 44 when Nuwan Thushara could not hold a return catch. He added another 52 runs before his dismissal. Those figures describe what the batters scored after the missed opportunities; they do not establish what Pakistan's total would have been had the catches been taken.

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis acknowledged that the team's recent fielding standards had slipped. Speaking after the match, he said:

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.

Theekshana's evening captured Sri Lanka's mixed performance. He dismissed Fakhar, caught Farhan and later top scored in the chase, but conceded 55 runs in four overs with the ball.

Sadaqat falls four runs short of a century

The scorecard confirms that Sadaqat received the player of the match award for his 96. His strike rate was 188.23, meaning he scored at a pace equivalent to about 188 runs per 100 balls faced. The innings followed consecutive centuries in the Caribbean Premier League and another rapid half century in the opening match of this series.

Most accounts record six fours and seven sixes, with the seven sixes described as equalling the most by a Pakistan batter in a T20 innings. On that boundary count, 66 of his 96 runs came from fours and sixes.

There are discrepancies in the match reports. One account lists seven fours and six sixes, rather than six fours and seven sixes, and credits Thushara with the final wicket. The scorecard confirms that Sadaqat was caught by Shanaka off Eshan Malinga from the last ball of the innings. Malinga's figures are given as one for 41.

Sadaqat explained his approach after the match:

I play with positive intent and pick my balls to hit boundaries.

His innings combined that attacking approach with continuity. He participated in both major partnerships after the opening wicket and remained at the crease until the final delivery, finishing four runs short of his first T20 international century.

Imran's swing closes down the chase

Salman Mirza, Pakistan's only change from the opening match, struck in the first over of Sri Lanka's reply. Lahiru Udara was caught behind for five, a sharp reversal from his 91 off 55 balls in the first game.

Imran then removed Jayawardene for 22, captain Mendis for nine and Sahan Arachchige without scoring. Sri Lanka were 49 for four in the eighth over, losing wickets at precisely the stage when they needed to establish a partnership and accelerate.

Imran delivered his four overs in one spell and conceded just 11 runs. His economy rate, the average number of runs allowed per over, was 2.75. He also bowled 14 dot balls, deliveries from which no runs were scored, out of his 24 legal balls.

Those figures explain the pressure beyond the three wickets. More than half of Imran's deliveries produced no runs while Sri Lanka were pursuing a target requiring almost 11 per over. His spell denied them both scoring opportunities and established batters.

Mirza finished with two wickets for 28 runs. Saim Ayub and Shadab Khan each took one for 19 from three overs, while Naseem Shah conceded 28 from four overs without taking a wicket. Pakistan's supporting bowlers kept the chase contained after Imran's breakthroughs.

Late resistance cannot repair Sri Lanka's start

Sri Lanka slipped further to 74 for six after 11.5 overs. Kamindu Mendis contributed 23, but no batter in the top order produced an innings comparable to Sadaqat's or Farhan's.

Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Theekshana then added 50 for the seventh wicket. Wickramasinghe made 29 from 24 balls before Mirza dismissed him in the penultimate over. Theekshana remained unbeaten on 32 from 26 deliveries, including four fours.

The partnership prevented a more severe collapse, but the scoring demand was already extreme. At 74 for six, Sri Lanka still needed 142 from 49 balls, equivalent to more than 17 runs per over. Their recovery came too late to threaten Pakistan's total.

Mendis accepted responsibility for the batting performance alongside his teammates. The Sri Lanka captain said:

Batters need to take responsibility including me.

He also described the conditions as suitable for scoring:

It was a batting pitch and we needed to score 200 runs at least.

Sri Lanka instead finished 49 runs below the 182 for eight they had made in the first match. That earlier total had also proved insufficient, with Pakistan completing the chase in 18.5 overs.

One match remains before the ODI tri series

The final T20 international is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, at Rawalpindi. Pakistan have already secured the series, while Sri Lanka can still avoid a clean sweep before the teams move into a different format.

The Pakistan Cricket Board's official schedule confirms that all three T20 internationals are at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 9, 11 and 13, 2026. It also confirms that the ODI tri series begins with Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on October 18, with the final in Lahore on October 31.

The sequence of matches and the next scheduled stage are:

• October 9: Pakistan won the opening T20 international by four wickets, chasing Sri Lanka's 182 for eight with seven balls remaining.
• October 11: Pakistan made 215 for three and won by 82 runs to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead.
• October 13: Rawalpindi hosts the third and final T20 international.
• October 18: England joins Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the start of an ODI tri series.

Farhan, Pakistan's captain, said after Sunday's victory that the team intended to maintain its attacking approach:

If we continue this way we will end up scoring more than 200 every time, so we will play with the same intensity.

That is a statement of intent rather than a guarantee. Pakistan's two victories have shown successful batting in different match situations, while Sri Lanka's immediate task is to convert catching opportunities and prevent another early batting collapse. No changes to either team's lineup for the final match have been confirmed in the match accounts.

The scorecard confirms that Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field in the second T20 international at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 11, 2026. Pakistan batted first and Sri Lanka completed their 20 overs at 133 for seven, rather than being bowled out.

Key Points

• Pakistan won by 82 runs in Rawalpindi to secure an unbeatable 2-0 series lead.
• Their 215 for three was their highest T20 international total at home and against Sri Lanka.
• Maaz Sadaqat scored 96 from 51 balls and was named player of the match; Sahibzada Farhan made 73 from 44.
• Three dropped catches gave Pakistan's two leading scorers crucial reprieves.
• Mohammad Imran took three for 11 in four overs as Sri Lanka finished on 133 for seven.
• The final T20 international is scheduled for October 13, before the ODI tri series begins on October 18.