Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat help Pakistan seal series in style

With a crushing 82-run victory over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, young sensation Maaz Sadaqat and new captain Sahibzada Farhan repeated their excellent performances from the series opener, giving Pakistan a 2-0 lead.

Sri Lanka set themselves a challenge in their bid to level the series after making the bizarre decision to bat first in the first game. They made three changes but left Dushmantha Chameera, their primary seamstress, out. However, their sloppy catching, erratic bowling, and inconsistent batting strategy ensured that they never really competed.

Pakistan reached 24/0 in three overs on a flat surface with occasional variable bounce, and Farhan and Fakhar Zaman quickly broke free. Farhan top-edged a slower shot early for Sri Lanka, but the short third man missed it. After the Powerplay, Zaman tried to score quickly, but he fell, giving Maheesh Theekshana his first loss.

But Farhan didn't let the offspinner rest; in the next over, he hit sixes off him that were more than 90 meters long. Sadaqat's timing wasn't perfect right away. Sadaqat had settled into his stride by the time the skipper reached his fifty off 31 balls, hitting Malinga for a sensational six over deep point. The pair didn't let any of their frontline bowlers settle on a length and kept taking chances. The fact that Sri Lanka lost at least three catches did not help matters.

After that, the 21-year-old went after Theekshana's collection of slot balls. In the 16th over, he hit three sixes out of four balls, giving him the most expensive figures of his T20I career. After striking Dasun Shanaka for four and six, Farhan had fallen by that time. Sadaqat continued to lead, going from 51 off turn 30 to 76 off turn 40.

Sadaqat kept finding boundaries up until the start of the final over, totaling six fours and seven sixes. This meant that even slower players weren't spared. Taking Sadaqat off the final ball, four short of his century, Malinga skillfully mixed his slower shots with yorkers.

The pursuit by Sri Lanka never really got going. Pakistan took an early lead when Lahiru Udara, who scored 91 runs in the first game, was bowled by a sharp Salman Mirza bouncer. With three consecutive fours from Mirza, Sineth Jayawardena, who was brought in for this game, took his chances, one of which was an inside edge that could have hit the stumps. Sri Lanka needed a quick Powerplay because the ball was sitting up nicely in the lights.

Jayawardena, on the other hand, fell while attempting to clear the field with the final Powerplay ball while Kusal Mendis was taking his time at the other end. After six overs, they were pushed to the sidelines at 35/2.

Mohammad Imran continued to ping right-handers into their bodies by hitting the right lengths without losing his radar, using his natural angle. He took two-in-two after changing his pace, and Sri Lanka didn't get any big overs to wake up. After killing the tourists in the middle overs, he went 3 for 11 from his four.

Sri Lanka found a late partnership in No. 7 and 8 Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Theekshana in pursuit of a rapidly rising required rate, but the 50-run stand only delayed the inevitable. Sadaqat and Farhan combined for 12 sixes, while Sri Lanka hit three in total, demonstrating the stark difference in firepower between the two lineups.