Sahibzada Farhan has won his first series as Pakistan’s T20I captain, and he has done it with the bat as much as with the whistle. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 82 runs in the second T20I at Rawalpindi on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, with Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat producing the kind of fearless batting that suggests a new era may be taking shape.

The series-clinching win was built on a total of 215 for 3 after Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field. Sadaqat made 96 off 51 balls, four short of a hundred, and was named Player of the Match. Farhan added 73 off 44 balls, and the two put on 73 together before Sadaqat shared a 72-run partnership with Hasan Nawaz. Pakistan scored 156 runs in the last 12 overs of the innings, a surge that left Sri Lanka with an almost impossible target.

The chase never got going. Sri Lanka finished on 133 for 7, with Maheesh Theekshana’s unbeaten 32 the top score, as debutant Mohammad Imran took 3 for 11 and Salman Mirza picked up 2 for 28. Naseem Shah bowled the final over as Pakistan closed out the series.

The foundation for the win was laid two days earlier, in the first T20I on Friday. Sri Lanka posted 182 for 8 after batting first, driven by a fine 91 off 55 balls from opener Lahiru Udara, and for a while that looked like a competitive total. Pakistan’s reply made it look ordinary. Farhan, playing his first home match as captain, hit 89 off 53 balls with 10 fours and four sixes, and was named Player of the Match. Fakhar Zaman gave the chase a quick start with 21 off 13 balls, and Sadaqat followed with a 29-ball 50, his maiden T20I half-century, as the pair put on 92 for the second wicket. Pakistan reached 187 for 6 with 5 balls to spare, winning by four wickets.

It is worth noting how much of this series has been about new faces. Mohammad Imran and Razaullah both made their T20I debuts in the opener, and Imran’s returns across the two matches, 2 for 21 followed by 3 for 11, have been among the most encouraging details for the selectors. Naseem Shah, who took 3 for 36 in the first match, has provided experience in a bowling attack that otherwise looks young. Sadaqat, meanwhile, has gone from a first half-century to a near-century within the space of a weekend, which is the sort of rise that tends to attract attention from selectors and opposition analysts alike.

Farhan’s own story is part of the appeal. He has been one of Pakistan’s more consistent T20I openers over the past year, and an unbeaten 80 off 45 balls against Sri Lanka in last year’s tri-series was an early sign of his appetite for the format. Taking the captaincy and immediately leading from the front is a good way to settle into the job, and the way he has batted, aggressively and without fuss, sets a tone that younger players in the side appear to be following. Early captaincy results are an unreliable guide to long-term success, and two wins against a Sri Lanka side that was well beaten in the second match do not settle any broader questions. But they do give Farhan something every new captain wants, which is time and credibility.

Sri Lanka, for their part, will have mixed feelings. Udara’s 91 in the opener was one of the individual highlights of the series, and Theekshana has bowled and batted usefully, but the visitors’ batting collapsed under pressure in the second match, and their bowlers struggled to find answers once Pakistan’s batters got going. They will want to use the final match to find some rhythm, particularly with a larger schedule still ahead.

For Pakistan, the third T20I on Tuesday in Rawalpindi is a chance to test the bench. With the series already won, there is an opportunity to look at players who have not yet had a game, and to see how the new captain handles a match with less at stake and more room to experiment. The more interesting question is what comes after the series. Pakistan’s T20 side has gone through plenty of changes in recent years, with captains, openers and bowling combinations rotating often, and a convincing home series win is only worth as much as what it leads to. If this is the start of a stable core built around Farhan, Sadaqat, Naseem and the new bowlers, it may prove significant. If it is simply a strong week against a visiting side, it will be remembered as a pleasant one.

For now, Pakistan have the trophy in sight, a captain with a good start and a young batter who is making the most of his chance. Tuesday will show how deep the roster really goes.

Compiled by the Weekly PK Sports Desk.