Mohammad Imran has five wickets for 32 in his first two T20Is, and Pakistan go for a sweep in Rawalpindi tonight
Pakistan lead Sri Lanka 2-0 after Sunday’s 82-run win and can finish the series 3-0 in the third T20I at Rawalpindi from 6:30pm IST.
Oct 13, 2026
Mohammad Imran had never played a T20I before Friday. Two games later he has five wickets for 32 runs in eight overs, and Pakistan have the series won. Tonight at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium they go for a 3-0 against a Sri Lanka side that has lost 12 of its last 14 T20Is. The game starts at 6pm local time, 6:30pm IST.
There is a bit of history on the line. The only time Pakistan have been whitewashed in a home T20I series was in October 2019, when a Sri Lanka side missing most of its senior players won 3-0 in Lahore. Seven years on, the roles could be reversed.
215 for 3 and an 82-run win
The second game on Sunday was not close. Sri Lanka chose to bowl and watched Pakistan make 215 for 3, their highest T20I total at home, beating 208 for 3 against West Indies in Karachi in 2021. Maaz Sadaqat made 96 off 51 balls with seven sixes and was out to Eshan Malinga off the final ball of the innings, four short of a first T20I hundred. Captain Sahibzada Farhan hit 73 off 44, and the two of them added 88 for the second wicket.
Sri Lanka never got near it. Lahiru Udara, who made 91 in the opener, went cheaply this time, and the chase finished on 133 for 7. Maheesh Theekshana, a spinner, top-scored with 32 not out. That tells you most of what you need to know about the batting. Imran took 3 for 11 in his four overs, and Salman Mirza, in for Razaullah, picked up two.
Nuwan Thushara put part of it down to the fielding. “If we had taken those catches, we could have reduced their total by another 20 to 30 runs,” he said.
Sadaqat and Farhan are carrying the batting
Sadaqat has 146 runs in the series, after a 29-ball fifty in Friday’s four-wicket win. Farhan has 162, with 89 in the first game. The new captain does not sound like a man who plans to ease off. “Looking at the way we are batting, I believe we can comfortably score 200-plus,” he said.
Pakistan could still change things with the series won. Abrar Ahmed has gone for runs, and left-arm wrist-spinner Sufyan Moqim is the obvious option if they want a look at someone new. Imran, for his part, did not seem fussed about personal numbers. “For me, the most important thing was winning the series for Pakistan. That is enough for me,” he said.
What Sri Lanka can change
Sri Lanka’s problems go back further than this week. Since beating Australia at the T20 World Cup in February, they have won two T20Is in 14, one of them against Bangladesh at the Asian Games. They lost 3-0 in England last month before coming here.
Kusal Mendis and the coaching staff may turn to legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth after Theekshana went for plenty on Sunday, and Dushmantha Chameera could come back if fit. Dropping catches against a top order like this one is the bigger issue, though, and that is harder to fix with a selection change.
My view is that Pakistan win this comfortably if they bat first again. Rawalpindi has usually suited the chasing side, but this Pakistan top order chased 183 and then made 215, and Sri Lanka have not looked like a side that can chase down a big score. Both teams stay on for the ODI tri-series with England, which starts on 18 October.