Farhan and Sadaqat half-centuries lead Pakistan to victory over Sri Lanka in 1st T20

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his elevation to the Pakistan Twenty20 captaincy with a 52-ball 89 as Sri Lanka was beaten by four wickets on Friday.

Farhan carried Pakistan to 187-6 in 18.5 overs as he smashed 10 fours and four sixes. Maaz Sadaqat smacked 50 off just 29 balls and Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Opening batter Lahiru Udara’s 91 gave Sri Lanka a fighting total of 182-8 against a new-look Pakistan pace attack that featured debutants Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.

Rawalpindi will also host the remaining two games on Sunday and next Tuesday.

The opening pair of Farhan and Fakhar Zaman (21) didn’t allow the Sri Lanka pacers to settle down in the powerplay as they combined for 54 off 31 balls.

Tall fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera's two overs in the powerplay went for 32 runs.

Sadaqat struck two sixes and a four in the first four deliveries he faced against Eshan Malinga and settled the chase in the brisk stand of 92 off 53 balls with Farhan.

Sadaqat completed his maiden T20 half-century off just 28 balls before he fell on the next ball, trapped lbw by Maheesh Theekshana (2-36).

Sri Lanka hit back briefly when Chameera grabbed his 100th T20 wicket by having Hasan Nawaz caught behind down the leg side and Theekshana clean-bowled Saim Ayub on 8 by a delivery that kept low.

When Farhan, who counterattacked Theekshana with a six and three fours in one over, finally holed out to a spectacular diving catch by Sahan Arachchige at midwicket, Pakistan was only three runs from victory.

Udara, playing in his fifth T20, struck 11 fours and a six in his 55-ball knock before he fell in the penultimate over.

Naseem Shah (3-36), recalled to the T20 squad after Pakistan left out Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Haris, gave Pakistan a strong start when he dismissed captain Kusal Mendis on 1 in the first over.

Kamil Mishara struggled in the powerplay and gave Fakhar Zaman one of his three catches and his wicket to Pakistan's stand-out bowler Imran, who picked up 2-21 on debut.

But Udara revived Sri Lanka by putting on 60 runs with Kamindu Mendis (23) against the spinners and another 57 runs with Dasun Shanaka (18).

Udara completed his half-century off 32 balls and was caught in the deep in Shah’s final over as Sri Lanka hit 66 runs in the final six overs.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

Sri Lanka's Lahiru Udara plays a shot during the first T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Muhammad Imran, second left, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Sri Lanka's Kamil Mishara during the first T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Maaz Sadaqat plays a shot during the first T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan bats during the first T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

HEBRON, Ky. (AP) — Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on whether the Pentagon will livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan in December but told reporters that if it is livestreamed, “I’m not going to be watching it.”

The Republican vice president said, “I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” when asked about the plans that the Pentagon confirmed Thursday. But Vance then tried to set aside the controversy over the shocking plans for a public execution and said Hasan’s crimes should not be forgotten.

Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting spree at the military base in 2009.

“So whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people,” Vance said.

“Now, that said, I mean, look, if it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it,” he added.

Vance is a convert to the Catholic Church, which has long opposed capital punishment.

Earlier Friday morning, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the U.S. government’s decision to livestream Hasan's execution.

“It is with shock and great sorrow that I have learned of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream the execution,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the conference, said in a statement. He added that the decision was “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.”

Earlier, President Donald Trump told a White House event that Hasan will be getting “the death penalty through firing squad. And he deserves it.”

Trump, who approved Hasan's execution, called him “a maniac.”

The president approved the method of execution by firing squad days after a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection late last month pushed Tennessee’s governor to halt further executions in that state this year.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military hasn’t executed a service member by firing squad since World War II. The last military execution took place on April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was executed by hanging.

Trump, who has long been a vocal supporter of capital punishment, didn’t mention the plans that the Pentagon has announced to livestream the execution so that the broader public can see it.

This story has been corrected to show the military base's name is Fort Hood, not Ford Hood.

Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Washington and Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 in Hebron, Ky., as he departs for a rally in Lima, Ohio. (Samuel Corum/Pool Photo via AP)