Sri Lankan captain Kusal Mendis delivered a record-breaking performance in the third and final T20I against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, scoring an unbeaten 87 off 48 balls to guide his side to an 8-wicket victory and avoid a 3-0 series whitewash.
With this career-best inning, Mendis surpassed Pathum Nissanka (2,784 runs in 97 matches) to become Sri Lanka's all-time highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals, elevating his career tally to 2,791 runs. Batting first, Pakistan posted 168/8 in 20 overs, anchored by captain and opener Sahibzada Farhan's 76 off 47 balls and Arafat Minhas' late cameo of 34* off 20 balls. Dasun Shanaka and Nuwan Thushara led Sri Lanka's bowling attack with two wickets each.
In reply, Sri Lanka lost opener Lahiru Udara early for 1 run, but a steadying 73-run partnership between Sineth Jayawardene (38 off 26) and Kusal Mendis brought the visitors into full control. Mendis then partnered with Kamindu Mendis (40* off 27) in an unbroken 98-run stand to chase down the 169-run target with 17 balls to spare. Kusal Mendis was named Player of the Match, while Sahibzada Farhan was awarded Player of the Series after scoring a tournament-high 238 runs across three matches.
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