Pakistan chase 326 to win ODI tri-series final as Fakhar Zaman hits 127 against Sri Lanka
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets with nine balls left in Lahore, matching India's 2002 Lord's record. Fakhar Zaman made 127 and Arafat Minhas, player of the series, hit 61 off 31 balls.
Pakistan won the ODI tri-series in Lahore on Saturday night, chasing down 326 against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium. They got home by three wickets with nine balls to spare, just four days after Sri Lanka had bowled them out for 110 on the same ground.
The chase equals the highest successful one in any ODI tournament final, a record India set against England at Lord's in the 2002 NatWest final.
The final in brief
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | 31 October 2026, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| Sri Lanka | 325 for 8 in 50 overs |
| Pakistan | 326 for 7, with 9 balls left |
| Result | Pakistan won by 3 wickets |
| Top scorers | Fakhar Zaman 127, Kamindu Mendis 131 |
| Player of the series | Arafat Minhas, 9 wickets and 149 runs |
How Sri Lanka got to 325
Pakistan chose to bowl first. Sri Lanka's openers put on 87 before Kamindu Mendis took over with 131 off 128 balls, his first ODI century. He added 146 for the third wicket with Pavan Rathnayake, who made 77 off 65 balls.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Salman Agha took two wickets each, and Pakistan pulled things back in the last overs to keep the total at 325.
The chase: from 14 for 2 to the winning six
Pakistan started badly. Babar Azam went for a duck and the side were 14 for 2. Fakhar Zaman then rebuilt the innings with Saad Baig, who made 74 off 75 balls, his first ODI half-century. The pair added 149.
Fakhar's 127 came off 99 balls with 11 fours and six sixes. When he was out, Pakistan still needed 106. Arafat Minhas hit 61 off just 31 balls, with four sixes, and Hasan Nawaz stayed calm at the other end with 37 not out. Shaheen Afridi finished the match with a six.
After the match, Fakhar said he was relieved to score in a final after a run of poor form, and that the stand with Saad Baig helped him settle, The National reported. Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis said his side were 25 to 30 runs short and that dropped chances cost them.
Records from the night
- 656 runs in the match, the highest aggregate in any ODI tournament final, beating 651 in the 2002 NatWest final, ANI reported.
- Fakhar has now scored two centuries in three ODI finals, including the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Only he and Saeed Anwar have more than one ODI final century for Pakistan.
- It was his fourth ODI hundred while chasing 300 or more, the most by a Pakistan batter, and it took him past 4,000 ODI runs in 96 innings.
- Pavan Rathnayake finished as the top run-scorer of the series with 427 runs.
What it means for Pakistan
This is Pakistan's first ODI tri-series title since 2008, when they beat India in the Kitply Cup final in Bangladesh. It also makes up for the home tri-series final they lost to New Zealand in 2025.
The win came with a young middle order doing the job: Saad Baig, Arafat Minhas and Hasan Nawaz all made important runs under pressure. For the selectors, that matters as much as the trophy.
Catch up on how Sri Lanka beat Pakistan earlier in the week.
Sources
- ICC - Pakistan clinch tri-series with big chase against Sri Lanka
- The National - Fakhar Zaman revives Champions Trophy memories with winning ton
- ANI - Standout stats from the PAK-SL tri-nation series final
- CricTracker - Pakistan match India's 2002 Lord's 326 chase in tri-series final
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