Sri Lanka won the toss for the third time on the tour and chose to bowl in the dead-rubber third T20I in Rawalpindi, while series-winning Pakistan made four changes to test their bench.
Sri Lanka have won the toss and chosen to bowl first in the third and final T20I against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Pakistan have already wrapped up the series 2-0, so the hosts have used the dead rubber to make four changes.
| At a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Match | 3rd T20I, Sri Lanka in Pakistan, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Tuesday 13 October 2026 |
| Toss | Sri Lanka won and chose to bowl, their third toss win in a row on this tour |
| Series | Pakistan lead 2-0 and have already sealed the three-match series |
| Pakistan changes | In: Razaullah, Arafat Minhas, Sufiyan Moqim, Abdul Samad. Out: Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub |
| Sri Lanka change | Legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth in for Maheesh Theekshana |
| Captains | Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan, stand-in), Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) |
The toss
Kusal Mendis called correctly again and put Pakistan in. The pitch is expected to suit batting once more, and Sri Lanka are said to be targeting a restriction of Pakistan to around 200.
Four changes for Pakistan
Razaullah, Arafat Minhas, Sufiyan Moqim and Abdul Samad come in for Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Saim Ayub. The Pakistan XI is Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan (capt), Maaz Sadaqat, Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Arafat Minhas, Muhammad Imran, Razaullah, Salman Mirza and Sufiyan Moqim.
Sri Lanka make just one change, with legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth replacing Maheesh Theekshana. Their XI is Lahiru Udara, Sineth Jayawardena, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sahan Arachige, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Eshan Malinga, Binura Fernando and Nuwan Thushara.
What Farhan said
Stand-in captain Sahibzada Farhan said at the toss that he would also have bowled first. He said he wants Pakistan's middle order to get a testing run out in a match that no longer decides the series.
The series context
Pakistan won the first T20I by four wickets on 9 October and the second by 82 runs on 11 October, posting 215/3 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 133/7 in reply. Sri Lanka are chasing a consolation win and a first bilateral T20I series win since September 2025. They have won just 6 of 23 T20Is since the start of the year.
The story comes from ESPNcricinfo, cross-checked against WE News English. Read the full piece on ESPNcricinfo. ESPNcricinfo.
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