Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his elevation to the Pakistan Twenty20 captaincy in style on Friday, steering his side to a four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka. Leading from the front, the new captain struck a decisive 89 off just 52 balls to guide Pakistan to a successful chase of 187-6 in 18.5 overs, securing a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Pakistan’s chase began aggressively as Farhan and Fakhar Zaman combined for 54 runs in the opening 31 balls, keeping the Sri Lankan pace attack under pressure. Dushmantha Chameera faced early difficulty, conceding 32 runs across his first two overs. While Sri Lanka briefly halted progress when Chameera claimed his 100th T20 wicket by dismissing Hasan Nawaz, and Maheesh Theekshana bowled Saim Ayub for 8, the partnership between Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat proved pivotal. His impressive stroke play and ability to find the boundary regularly put the opposition bowlers under pressure and helped Pakistan reach the target with seven balls to spare. Finding the boundaries regularly and keeping the scoreboard moving with an aggressive approach, he displayed attacking intent throughout his knock. However, his celebration was short-lived, as he was dismissed on the very next delivery, trapped leg-before-wicket (lbw) by Maheesh Theekshana, who finished with figures of 2-36. Although his dismissal gave Sri Lanka a much-needed breakthrough as they looked to regain control of the contest, sadaqat’s timely contribution helped strengthen Pakistan’s position.
Maaz Sadaqat provided critical support, hammering a 29-ball 50 to help maintain the required scoring rate. Sadaqat’s knock included two sixes and a four in his first four balls against Eshan Malinga. Although he was trapped lbw by Theekshana immediately after reaching his maiden T20 half-century, his contribution was instrumental in keeping Pakistan in command. Sadaqat struck two sixes and a four in the first four deliveries he faced against Eshan Malinga and settled the chase in the brisk stand of 92 off 53 balls with Farhan. Producing an impressive innings that provided Pakistan with valuable momentum, sadaqat reached a significant milestone by completing his maiden T20 half-century in just 28 balls.
Farhan continued his assault, even taking 19 runs off one Theekshana over, which featured three fours and a six. His innings, totaling 10 fours and four sixes, ended just three runs shy of the target when he holed out to a diving Sahan Arachchige at midwicket. The remaining matches of the series are scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi on Sunday and Tuesday. Smashing 10 fours and four sixes to keep Pakistan firmly on course during the chase, he produced an aggressive batting display.
Earlier, Sri Lanka posted a competitive 182-8, spearheaded by opening batter Lahiru Udara’s 91. Udara played a 55-ball knock, striking 11 fours and a six before falling in the penultimate over to Naseem Shah. Udara had revived the innings with a 60-run stand alongside Kamindu Mendis, followed by a 57-run partnership with Dasun Shanaka as Sri Lanka added 66 runs during the final six overs.
The visitors struggled against a revamped Pakistan pace unit, which included debutants Mohammad Imran and Razaullah. Naseem Shah, recalled to the squad in place of Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Haris, made an immediate impact by dismissing captain Kusal Mendis for 1 in the opening over. Debutant Mohammad Imran proved effective with 2-21, while Kamil Mishara also fell during the powerplay as part of a strong overall fielding effort from Pakistan, which included three catches from Fakhar Zaman.
