Fakhar Zaman hit 127 off 99 balls and Arafat Minhas added a 31-ball 61 as Pakistan chased down Sri Lanka’s 325 for 8 with nine balls to spare, winning the ODI tri-series final in Lahore by three wickets. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi hit the winning six.
Lahore, Pakistan: Four days after being bowled out for 110 by these opponents, Pakistan chased 326 to win the final. At the Gaddafi Stadium, Fakhar rediscovered his form in the biggest game of the series, Saad Baig announced himself, and Minhas finished the job with a burst of sixes before Shaheen sealed the title.
Kamindu’s century lifts Sri Lanka past 300
Sri Lanka, asked to bat first, were in control for most of their innings. Kamindu Mendis made 131 off 128 balls, his maiden ODI century, and put on 87 for the first wicket with Avishka Fernando, who made 38. Salman Ali Agha then removed Fernando and Kusal Mendis, but Kamindu and Pavan Rathnayake added 146 for the third wicket, with Rathnayake scoring 77 off 65 balls.
At 255 for 2 after 41 overs, Sri Lanka were heading for a bigger total. Then Pakistan struck back. Shaheen dismissed Kamindu and Dasun Shanaka in quick succession, and Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 70 runs in the last nine overs, finishing on 325 for 8. Dilshan Madushanka, who had taken five wickets in the group-stage meeting, would go on to take three in Pakistan’s reply.
Fakhar and Baig rebuild after an early wobble
Pakistan were 14 for 2 almost immediately. Madushanka removed Maaz Sadaqat for 5 and Babar Azam for a five-ball duck, and a repeat of the 110 all out in the group-stage defeat on 27 October looked possible. Fakhar, who had managed just 31 runs in his previous four matches, and the 19-year-old Baig then rebuilt the innings with a 149-run partnership for the third wicket. Baig made 74 off 75 balls, a maiden ODI half-century.
Fakhar reached his century off 84 balls on the way to 127 off 99 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes. It was his 12th ODI hundred. Madushanka bowled him in the 34th over, with 106 still needed, and the match was once again in the balance.
Minhas and Nawaz close it out
At 230 for 5 after 36.5 overs, Pakistan still needed 96. Minhas, at No. 7, took the game away with 61 off 31 balls, including four sixes and three fours, and shared a 94-run stand for the sixth wicket with Hasan Nawaz, who finished unbeaten on 37. Shaheen then hit Madushanka over deep midwicket for the winning six in the 49th over, leaving Pakistan on 331 for 7 in 48.3 overs.
The win avenged the eight-wicket group-stage defeat in which Madushanka took a career-best 5 for 34, and gave Pakistan the title after a tournament that began with a 37-run win over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.
Result: Pakistan 331/7 (48.3 overs) beat Sri Lanka 325/8 (50 overs) by three wickets, ODI Tri-Series final, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Sri Lanka: Kamindu Mendis 131, Pavan Rathnayake 77, Avishka Fernando 38. Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman 127, Saad Baig 74, Arafat Minhas 61, Hasan Nawaz 37*. Bowling: Dilshan Madushanka 3/63 (SL); Shaheen Shah Afridi 2/50, Salman Ali Agha 2/44 (PAK).
