Maaz Sadaqat and Sahibzada Farhan power Pakistan to 215

Pakistan made a steady start before accelerating dramatically in the second half of their innings.

Farhan took the attack to Sri Lanka’s spinners, striking multiple sixes against Mahesh Theekshana to bring up his half-century off 31 balls. He eventually fell for 73 in the 15th over after being caught at deep third off Dasun Shanaka. Sadaqat then took charge, dismantling both pace and spin with an outstanding display of power-hitting.

The left-hander struck seven sixes and five fours in the latter stages, scoring 79 off 40 in the second half of the innings. He shared a 73-run partnership with Farhan before adding 72 runs with Hasan Nawaz to propel Pakistan to 215/3.

Sadaqat narrowly missed a maiden T20I century when Eshan Malinga caught him at deep cover off 96 from 51 balls. Pakistan scored 156 runs in the final 12 overs to post a formidable total.

Mohammad Imran’s three-wicket haul crushes Sri Lanka’s chase

Sri Lanka suffered an early setback when Salman Mirza dismissed Born of Air for five in the opening over.

Sineth Jayawardena briefly counterattacked with three consecutive boundaries, but the visitors reached only 35/2 at the end of the powerplay. Imran then tore through the middle order with an outstanding spell. He dismissed Jayawardena before removing Where in Mendi and Sahan Arachchige in the eighth over, with wicketkeeper Khawaja Nafay taking two sharp catches.

Imran finished with figures of 3/11 from four overs, leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 64/5 by the 11th over. Sri Lanka’s lower order managed some late boundaries, with Theekshana remaining unbeaten on 32, but the target was already beyond their reach.

The visitors finished on 133/7, handing Pakistan an emphatic 82-run victory as their batters and bowlers delivered a commanding all-round performance.