Lahiru Udara made exactly half of Sri Lanka’s 182, and Farhan’s 89 still won it for Pakistan
Pakistan chased 183 with seven balls to spare in the first T20I in Rawalpindi, despite losing four wickets for 34 near the end, and lead the three-match series 1-0.
Oct 10, 2026
Lahiru Udara faced 55 balls in Rawalpindi on Friday night and made 91 of Sri Lanka’s 182 for 8. That is exactly half the total, off one bat. It still wasn’t enough. Sahibzada Farhan, in his first game as Pakistan’s full-time T20I captain, made 89 off 53, and Khawaja Mohammad Nafay hit Eshan Malinga for six to win the first T20I by four wickets with seven balls to spare.
Udara against everyone else
Sri Lanka chose to bat and lost their captain in the opening over, Kusal Mendis caught off Naseem Shah for 1. Kamil Mishara soon followed for 6. Udara, who had never made a T20I fifty, got there off 32 balls and put on 60 for the third wicket with Kamindu Mendis, who made 23 off 18.
Nobody else got going. Kamindu and Sahan Arachchige went in quick succession, and Dasun Shanaka’s 18 off 15 was the only other score in double figures. Add up the other nine batters and they made 62 between them. Pakistan’s bowlers gave away 29 extras, most of them wides, so the scorers’ column beat everyone in the Sri Lanka side except Udara.
Pakistan’s two debutants did their part. Mohammad Imran bowled his four overs for 21 and took the wickets of Mishara and Arachchige, and Razaullah picked up his first T20I wicket, Maheesh Theekshana, in the last over. Naseem finished with 3 for 36. Udara had been dropped on 77, and Naseem got him in the end, caught by Hasan Nawaz at long-on off the final ball of the 19th over, nine short of a hundred.
A 92-run stand, and then a wobble
Farhan and Fakhar Zaman opened with 54 before Malinga had Fakhar caught for 21 off 13 in the last over of the powerplay. Then came the stand that settled it. Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat added 92 for the second wicket, and Sadaqat made 50 off 29, his first T20I fifty, before Theekshana trapped him lbw. Pakistan were 146 for 2 and needed 37 off the last 37 balls.
It should have been a stroll. Hasan Nawaz went for 1 to Dushmantha Chameera and Saim Ayub for 8 to Theekshana. Farhan, with 10 fours and four sixes in his 89, was caught in the deep by Arachchige off Nuwan Thushara, and Shadab Khan followed for a duck. Four wickets had gone for 34 runs. It was left to Nafay, the wicketkeeper, who finished on 12 not out off seven balls.
Two more at the same ground
Both remaining games are at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, on Sunday, 11 October and Tuesday, 13 October, starting at 6pm local time (6.30pm IST). Our series preview made Pakistan favourites, and I haven’t changed my mind. The finish was messy, but Imran’s 2 for 21 on debut was the most economical spell on either side, and a captain who makes 89 in his first game in charge has a decent start to build on.
Sri Lanka have less time to fix more. Udara won’t make half the runs every night, and the other nine managed 62 on a ground where 182 wasn’t enough.