Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan on Tuesday broke India’s Abhishek Sharma’s record for the most runs in a three-match T20I bilateral series between two full-member nations, capping a remarkable first home assignment as full-time skipper.
Farhan finished the series against Sri Lanka with 238 runs at an average of 79.33 and a strike rate of 165.27, and was named Player of the Series. He scored a half-century in each of the three matches.
Sahibzada Farhan breaks the T20I series record
Abhishek Sharma had set the benchmark earlier this year during India’s home series against Afghanistan, piling up 229 runs at 76.33 with a century and a fifty. Farhan went nine better.
The all-time list for three-match bilateral T20I series between full members now reads:
| Batter | Runs | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan) | 238 | vs Sri Lanka, 2026 |
| Abhishek Sharma (India) | 229 | vs Afghanistan, 2026 |
| Colin Munro (New Zealand) | 223 | vs West Indies, 2017-18 |
| David Warner (Australia) | 217 | vs Sri Lanka, 2019 |
Taking the record from an Indian batter — and doing it as captain in his first series in the full-time role — will not be lost on Pakistan’s fans.
How the 238 were made
Farhan opened the series with a match-winning 89 off 53 balls, decorated with ten fours and four sixes, as Pakistan chased down 183 to win the opener by four wickets.
He was just as fluent in the second game, striking 73 off 44 deliveries to lift Pakistan to 215 for 3. Sri Lanka managed only 133 for 7 in reply, and the series was sealed with a game to spare.
In the final fixture, his defiant 76 off 47 balls carried Pakistan to 168 for 8 after a middle-order collapse. Sri Lanka chased it down for a consolation eight-wicket win, but the series — and the record — belonged to Farhan.
A captain’s statement
Farhan was handed the full-time T20I captaincy just before the series, and his first home assignment could hardly have gone better on a personal level: three fifties, a series win, a Player of the Series award, and a world record.
His batting carried the aggressive template he has promised as captain — a strike rate above 165 across the series shows the intent was more than talk.
The timing matters too. With Pakistan’s white-ball calendar building toward major tournaments, having a captain in this kind of form — and a leadership group that includes record-breakers like Fakhar Zaman, who completed 100 T20I sixes in the same match — gives the side genuine momentum.
Records in bilateral series come and go, but breaking one held by India’s most destructive young opener, in your first series as permanent captain, is the kind of statement that defines a leadership tenure.
Frequently asked questions
What record did Sahibzada Farhan break?
Most runs in a three-match T20I bilateral series between two full-member nations — 238 runs against Sri Lanka, beating Abhishek Sharma’s 229 against Afghanistan earlier in 2026.
What were Farhan’s scores in the series?
89 off 53 in the first T20I, 73 off 44 in the second, and 76 off 47 in the third — a fifty in every match.
Who won the Pakistan-Sri Lanka T20I series?
Pakistan won 2-1. Sri Lanka took the final game by eight wickets to avoid the whitewash.
When did Farhan become T20I captain?
He was named Pakistan’s full-time T20I captain ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka in October 2026.
