Pakistan chased 326 in the tri-series final in Lahore to beat Sri Lanka by three wickets with nine balls remaining
Fakhar Zaman scored 127 off 99 balls and anchored the chase after Pakistan slipped to 14 for 2
Saad Baig made 74 off 75 and shared a 149-run stand with Fakhar Zaman for the third wicket
Pakistan chased 326 in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka in Lahore, sealing the trophy with nine balls and three wickets to spare. Fakhar Zaman led the chase with 127 off 99 balls, while Arafat Minhas smashed 61 off 31 from No. 7 to finish a pursuit that swung decisively late in the evening.
Pakistan's innings needed repair early. They slipped to 14 for 2 before Fakhar and Saad Baig rebuilt with a 149-run stand for the third wicket. Baig made 74 off 75 deliveries and gave Pakistan the platform to stay in touch with a stiff target on another good batting surface.
The finish was emphatic. Captain Shaheen Afridi hit the winning runs, launching Dilshan Madushanka over deep midwicket for six. Earlier, Sri Lanka had posted 325 for 8, but Pakistan's lower order made the difference after the top orders of both teams largely matched each other.
Fakhar's Matchwinning Hundred
Pakistan were in trouble early. Madushanka removed Maaz Sadaqat and Babar Azam with the new ball and left the chase wobbling at 14 for 2 before Fakhar and Baig took charge.
They added 149 for the third wicket and changed the game. Baig made 74 off 75 deliveries, while Fakhar paced the chase with control before accelerating hard through the middle overs. He reached his 12th ODI hundred off the 84th ball he faced after taking 52 balls to get to his fifty.
Sri Lanka missed their chance in the 25th over. Maheesh Theekshana dropped Fakhar on 69, a difficult chance, and Pakistan made the error count. Fakhar was especially strong on the leg side, where he scored 72 of his 127 runs, dominating the arc from fine leg to midwicket with sweeps and pulls.
Madushanka finally removed him in the 34th over. By then, Fakhar had done the heavy lifting. Madushanka finished with 3 for 63 from 9.3 overs after dismissing each of Pakistan's top three.
Minhas Finishes Chase
Minhas settled first. Then he broke the game open.
He and Hasan Nawaz added 94 off 65 deliveries for the sixth wicket to push Pakistan to the brink. Minhas was measured early, but after the 42nd over he tore into Sri Lanka's attack as the dew deepened and the fielding grew sloppier.
He scored 48 runs off his last 17 balls, hitting four sixes and three fours in all. At the start of the next over, Pakistan needed 18 off 18 balls. Minhas then hit two sixes and a four off Asitha Fernando to leave Pakistan two runs from victory before holing out to a slower ball that Asitha chased down himself.
Pakistan were already in sight of the line. With so many balls left, the result was no longer in doubt before Afridi hit the winning six.
Sri Lanka's Strong Start
Sri Lanka looked set for more. They reached 325 for 8 after being 255 for 2 at the end of 41 overs, a position from which a total close to 350 had seemed likely.
Kamindu Mendis anchored the innings with his maiden ODI century. He first added 87 off 104 deliveries with Avishka Fernando at the top, helping Sri Lanka settle after the start of the innings. Kamindu then found an even stronger partner in Pavan Rathnayake.
Rathnayake scored 77 off 65 balls and shared a 146-run third-wicket stand with Kamindu that came off 119 balls. The pair punished anything short or off line on a true pitch and drove Sri Lanka's charge through the middle overs.
Afridi Sparks Collapse
Pakistan's quicks changed the match late. Significant dew settled on the Lahore outfield in the evening and hampered Sri Lanka's bowling and fielding later, but Pakistan's seamers had already restricted Sri Lanka from a far stronger position.
Afridi struck the key blow when he trapped Kamindu lbw after the batter missed a sweep. In the 44th over, Afridi then had Dasun Shanaka caught at long-on. The next over, Rathnayake was caught on the straight boundary off Haris Rauf, and Sri Lanka's late push fell away.
The collapse was sharp. Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 28 runs after Kamindu's dismissal. Afridi, Rauf and Naseem Shah took two wickets each, with Afridi returning 2 for 50 from his 10 overs as Sri Lanka stumbled through the closing overs.
