Kusal Mendis' unbeaten 87 spares Sri Lanka T20I whitewash with eight-wicket win over Pakistan

Sri Lanka salvage pride in Rawalpindi

Kusal Mendis produced a clinical, unbeaten half-century to steer Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third and final T20I at Rawalpindi on Sunday, ensuring the tourists avoided a clean sweep after the hosts had already clinched the three-match series in the opening two games.

Mendis finished on 87 not out off just 48 deliveries, peppering the ropes with nine fours and four sixes, and shared an unbeaten stand of 98 off 55 balls with Kamindu Mendis (40 not out) to chase down Pakistan's 169 with 17 balls to spare.

Shanaka's middle-overs squeeze checks Pakistan

Sent in to bat, Pakistan raced to 34 without loss in three overs before Eshan Malinga turned the innings with a double-wicket maiden. He had Fakhar Zaman caught at cover off his first ball and then removed Maaz Sadaqat for a duck three balls later.

Captain Sahibzada Farhan, who made 76 — his third straight fifty — kept the scoreboard moving, but Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, playing his first game of the series, and Dasun Shanaka worked in tandem to seize control of the middle overs. Kamindu Mendis took a sharp catch at long-on to send back Hasan Nawaz off Viyaskanth's googly, and Shanaka's slower balls then accounted for Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Abdul Samad in back-to-back overs as Pakistan slipped to 102 for 6 in the 14th over.

Arafat Minhas rescued the innings with an unbeaten 34 off 20 balls at No. 8. He and Farhan added 66 off 37 balls and took 48 runs off the 17th, 18th and 19th overs. Nuwan Thushara pulled things back in the final over, conceding just five runs and dismissing Farhan, caught by Shanaka at cover, and Razaullah with a yorker.

Kusal and Kamindu cruise home

Sineth Jayawardena got Sri Lanka's chase going with 14 off the first over. Randhawa trapped Lahiru Udara lbw in the second but Jayawardena (38 off 26) and Kusal added 59 off 41 balls before Minhas had Jayawardena caught at long-on in the eighth over.

With dew making batting easier, Kusal reached his fifty off 33 balls and was dropped on 64 by Sufyan Moqim off his own bowling. He and Kamindu Mendis shared an unbeaten 98 off 55 balls, taking 18 off a Razaullah over and 15 off Salman Mirza's to help Sri Lanka canter to victory after two heavy defeats.

Pakistan sealed the series 2-1, with Farhan named Player of the Series for his consistency at the top of the order.

Brief scores

Pakistan 168/8 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 76, Arafat Minhas 34*; Dasun Shanaka 3-21) lost to Sri Lanka 172/2 in 17.1 overs (Kusal Mendis 87*, Kamindu Mendis 40*; Arafat Minhas 1-26, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 1-31) by 8 wickets.

Mendis in rich form across formats

The innings continues a prolific run for Kusal Mendis, who struck 121 in Sri Lanka's 16-run win over England in the second ODI at Headingley on September 25, 2026, a result that levelled that three-match ODI series (prior reporting, cricbuzz.com).