Sahibzada Farhan breaks Abhishek Sharma's T20I series record

Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan has broken India opener Abhishek Sharma’s record for the most runs in a three-match bilateral T20 International series between two full-member nations, after a sparkling series against Sri Lanka.

Farhan scored 238 runs at an average of 79.33 and a strike rate of 165.27, with a half-century in each of the three matches, and was named Player of the Series, Geo News reported.

Abhishek had set the previous record of 229 runs at an average of 76.33, with a century and a fifty, during India’s three-match home series against Afghanistan earlier this year.

A captain’s series

Farhan was named Pakistan’s full-time T20I captain ahead of the series, and he made his first home assignment as skipper one to remember.

Match by match:

• First T20I: a match-winning 89 off 53 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes, as Pakistan chased down 183 to win by four wickets
• Second T20I: 73 off 44 balls to lift Pakistan to 215-3; Sri Lanka managed only 133-7, and Pakistan sealed the series with an 82-run win
• Third T20I: 76 off 47 balls, with seven fours and three sixes, rescuing Pakistan from 102-6 to 168-8, though Sri Lanka won by eight wickets

Pakistan won the series 2-1.

Rescue act in the final match

In the last game in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, Pakistan were in trouble at 86-5 before Farhan and Arafat Minhas added 66 for the seventh wicket. Farhan’s third fifty in a row ended when he fell to Nuwan Thushara in the penultimate over, Dawn reported. Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis then hit an unbeaten 87 to win the match.

Farhan by the numbers

• Runs: 238
• Average: 79.33
• Strike rate: 165.27
• Fifties: three in three innings
• Age: 30

Beating India’s opener

The record carries extra meaning for Pakistan fans. Abhishek Sharma set his mark at home against Afghanistan with a century in the series; Farhan beat it without a hundred, through consistent scoring in every match, and while carrying the captaincy for the first time on home soil.

What comes next

Pakistan now turn to the Test format. Sri Lanka have named a 15-man squad for the two-Test series in the World Test Championship, starting in Rawalpindi on November 9, with the second Test in Lahore from November 17 to 21. Kusal Mendis will lead the visitors, Pathum Nissanka is included subject to fitness after a wrist injury, Dilshan Madushanka returns, and Eshan Malinga and Anjala Bandara receive call-ups, The Express Tribune reported. Opener Lahiru Udara and wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella are among those left out of Sri Lanka’s Test squad.

Why it matters

Farhan has given Pakistan’s T20 side a captain who leads with the bat. Three fifties in three matches, and a record taken from India’s opener, are a strong start to his leadership. Read our reports on Sri Lanka’s consolation win in the final match and on how Pakistan sealed the series.

This article draws on reporting by Geo News, Dawn and The Express Tribune.