Sri Lanka win toss, elect to bowl first against Pakistan in second T20I

Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan (centre) flips the coin as Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (right) makes the call at the toss for their first T20I at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on October 9, 2026. — PCBRAWALPINDI: Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Pakistan in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The hosts secured a dominant victory in the series opener and are now one win away from clinching the series, while Sri Lanka will be aiming to bounce back and level the contest.

The Green Shirts made just one change to their line-up, dropping Razaullah and bringing in Salman Mirza while the visitors made three adjustments.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (c), Fakhar Zaman, Maaz Sadaqat, Hasan Nawaz, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Imran, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (c), Lahiru Udara, Sineth Jayawardena, Kamindu Mendis, Sahan Arachchige, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Eshan Malinga and Nuwan Thushara.

Pakistan hold the upper hand in their T20I rivalry with Sri Lanka, having won 19 of their 32 meetings, while the Islanders have recorded 13 victories.

Their most recent encounter came in the Super Eights of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, when Pakistan edged Sri Lanka by five runs in a closely contested match.

However, Sri Lanka swept Pakistan 3-0 in their last bilateral T20I series in Pakistan in 2019.

Pakistan enter the second T20I with momentum following their victory in the opening match and will look to seal the series with another strong performance.

The hosts also come into the contest after winning a silver medal in the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games 2026, where they lost to eventual champions India in the final earlier this month.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, secured the bronze medal after defeating Bangladesh in the third-place playoff at the Games. They will be eager to respond to their opening-match defeat and keep the three-match series alive.

Pakistan: W, L, W, A, W (most recent first)