Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I: Kusal Mendis 87* gives Sri Lanka 8-wicket win; Pakistan take series 2-1

Key takeaways

• Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third and final T20I at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night, 13 October 2026.
• Pakistan made 168 for 8; Sri Lanka reached 172 for 2 in 17.1 overs.
• Kusal Mendis hit an unbeaten 87 off 48 balls and was named Player of the Match.
• Sahibzada Farhan top-scored for Pakistan with 76 off 47 (seven fours, three sixes).
• Pakistan, who won the first two matches, take the series 2-1.

Scorecard summary

How Pakistan's innings went

Pakistan started quickly again, but Eshan Malinga's fourth over — a double-wicket maiden — removed Fakhar Zaman and Maaz Sadaqat. Farhan and Hasan Nawaz hit back with five boundaries in two overs, and Pakistan were 57 for 2 after the powerplay.

From there Sri Lanka slowed the scoring. Leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, brought in for Maheesh Theekshana, gave away just 23 runs in four overs and took a wicket, while Dasun Shanaka used changes of pace to take 3 for 21. Malinga and Nuwan Thushara took two wickets each.

Farhan batted almost through the innings and fell off the penultimate ball. Apart from him, only Arafat Minhas (34 off 20) passed 20.

Sri Lanka's chase

Opener Lahiru Udara fell lbw early without reviewing; replays later showed the impact was outside off stump, according to ESPNcricinfo. After that, Kusal Mendis shared stands of 59 with Sineth Jayawardena and an unbroken 98 with Kamindu Mendis to finish the match with 17 balls left.

Series results

What's next

• Sahibzada Farhan ends his first home series as captain with a 2-1 series win, and another big score of his own in the final match.
• Pakistan's next fixture is an ODI tri-series match against Sri Lanka, according to the ESPNcricinfo fixture list. TalkEmber will post the schedule once the PCB confirms dates and venues.