Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I: Sahibzada Farhan 89 as Pakistan chase 183 to lead 1-0

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Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in the first T20I at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday night, chasing 183 with seven balls to spare to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Sahibzada Farhan, in his first match as Pakistan's full-time T20I captain, hit 89 off 53 balls and Maaz Sadaqat made his first T20I half-century, Dawn reported.

Pak vs SL 1st T20I: the scores

Result: Pakistan won by 4 wickets, with 7 balls left. Sri Lanka won the toss and batted.

How the chase was won

Farhan's 89 came with 10 fours and 4 sixes. He opened with Fakhar Zaman (21 off 13) and then put on 92 for the second wicket with Maaz Sadaqat, who reached 50 to settle the chase. Pakistan lost wickets late in the chase, but Khawaja Nafay's 12 not out off 7 balls saw Pakistan home in the 19th over.

Sri Lanka's innings: Udara's 91

Sri Lanka's total was built almost entirely on Lahiru Udara's 91 off 55 balls (11 fours, one six). Kamindu Mendis made 23 and Dasun Shanaka 18. Naseem Shah took 3 for 36 in his four overs, and debutant Mohammad Imran took 2 for 21. Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub and Razaullah, who claimed his first T20I wicket, took one each.

What it means

A first win under a new captain matters: Farhan took over the T20I side for this series, with Salman Agha moved aside.

Next match: 2nd T20I on Sunday 11 October

The three T20Is are followed by a one-day series from 18 October and two Tests in November, The Express Tribune reported. Match times in PKT, the ODIs and the Tests are on our Pakistan cricket schedule 2026-27, and ticket prices for the Pindi games are in our Pakistan vs Sri Lanka tickets guide.