Pakistan seal T20I series against Sri Lanka with an 82-run win at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The hosts posted 215-3 and then held Sri Lanka to 133-7, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with one game to spare.
Sri Lanka had won the toss and chosen to bowl, as our report on the toss and team news recorded, and for six overs that call looked sound.
Pakistan seal T20I series against Sri Lanka after Maaz turns the innings
Pakistan managed only 46 runs in the powerplay. Fakhar Zaman made 22 off 17 balls before he fell to Maheesh Theekshana in the seventh over, and at that stage the innings needed a push.
Captain Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat supplied it. The pair added 88 runs for the second wicket and changed the pace of the match. Farhan reached his half-century off 32 balls and kept attacking until Dasun Shanaka dismissed him in the 15th over, caught at deep third for 73 off 44 balls, with four fours and five sixes.
Maaz took longer to settle, and Thushara put down a return catch when he was on 44. After that reprieve, he made Sri Lanka pay in full. He reached his fifty off 29 balls with a six over long-off against Theekshana, and then took 22 runs from the spinner’s final over, hitting three sixes in it.
Hasan Nawaz added an unbeaten 19 off nine balls at the end. Pakistan collected 49 runs across the final three overs before the last one, and Maaz fell off the final delivery of the innings, caught by Shanaka at deep cover off Eshan Malinga. He made 96 off 51 balls, with six fours and seven sixes, as our innings report on Maaz Sadaqat’s 96 and the 215 total detailed. The 215-3 was Pakistan’s highest T20I total on home soil.
Randhawa spell breaks the chase inside eight overs
Sri Lanka’s reply faltered at once. Salman Mirza, back in international cricket after injury, removed Lahiru Udara for five in the opening over. Imran Randhawa then dismissed Sineth Jayawardena for 22 at the end of the powerplay, and the decisive damage came in the eighth over.
Imran removed captain Kusal Mendis for nine and Sahan Arachchige for a duck off successive deliveries. Wicket-keeper Khawaja Nafay took two sharp catches in that over, and Imran’s figures read 3-9 after three overs, with Sri Lanka reeling at 49-4.
He finished his four overs with three wickets for 11 runs. Shanaka then fell to Saim Ayub for nine, and Shadab Khan dismissed Kamindu Mendis for 23 to leave the visitors at 74-6. Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Theekshana resisted with a seventh-wicket stand of 50, but the required rate had climbed beyond reach by then. Wickramasinghe made 29 before he fell to Salman Mirza, who finished with two wickets, and Theekshana stayed unbeaten on 32 off 26 balls as Sri Lanka closed on 133-7.
Two debutants from Friday decide a series on Sunday
Both match-winners were playing only their second T20I. Maaz and Imran had made their debuts in Friday’s opening match, where Pakistan won the first game of the series, as our report on the first T20I win recorded. Maaz had already marked that debut with a half-century, the start covered in our profile of Maaz Sadaqat’s maiden T20I fifty, and on Sunday he was named player of the match.
Farhan, leading Pakistan in a series for the first time, marked his first series victory as captain by praising the side’s six-hitting and attacking intent. That approach has been his stated plan all week, as he explained when Farhan backed the aggressive approach after the opening win. Mendis admitted his batters had needed to take more responsibility on a surface that suited stroke-making.
The final match takes place on Tuesday in Rawalpindi. Pakistan have already secured the trophy, so the hosts can test their bench strength, while Sri Lanka play for a consolation win before the tour moves on. Dawn’s match report is here.
FAQ
What was the result of the second Pakistan vs Sri Lanka T20I?
Pakistan won by 82 runs. The hosts scored 215-3, with Maaz Sadaqat making 96 and Sahibzada Farhan 73, and Sri Lanka replied with 133-7.
Who was player of the match in the second T20I?
Maaz Sadaqat took the award for his 96 off 51 balls. Imran Randhawa’s spell of three wickets for 11 runs broke the Sri Lanka chase inside the first eight overs.
What is the series score and when is the final match?
Pakistan lead the three-match series 2-0, so the series is already decided. The final match is scheduled for Tuesday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
